Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Reduced by Gabelli Funds LLC

Gabelli Funds LLC decreased its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 570,255 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 3,586 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 1.9% of Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $254,875,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 493.0% in the first quarter. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC now owns 23,122 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,728,000 after buying an additional 19,223 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services & Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.9% in the first quarter. Advisory Services & Investments LLC now owns 14,869 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,256,000 after buying an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. LVW Advisors LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 29,192 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $12,282,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 40,134 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $16,885,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirador Capital Partners LP grew its stake in Microsoft by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 31,753 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $13,359,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT opened at $422.54 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $421.09 and its 200-day moving average is $424.95. The stock has a market cap of $3.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $360.36 and a twelve month high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.99 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 24.75%.

Microsoft declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MSFT. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. DA Davidson downgraded Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Citigroup decreased their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $503.03.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total transaction of $6,009,869.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $328,473,703.53. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,349,953.73. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total value of $6,009,869.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation develops and supports software, services, devices and solutions worldwide. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers office, exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft viva, and Microsoft 365 copilot; and office consumer services, such as Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions, Office licensed on-premises, and other office services.