Tpg Gp A LLC Sells 62,134 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Tpg Gp A LLC decreased its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 29.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 152,044 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 62,134 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.6% of Tpg Gp A LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Tpg Gp A LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $67,956,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fred Alger Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 4,927,271 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,202,244,000 after buying an additional 47,066 shares during the period. Lone Pine Capital LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Lone Pine Capital LLC now owns 2,020,205 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $902,931,000 after buying an additional 90,287 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 6.2% in the second quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 1,818,784 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $812,906,000 after acquiring an additional 105,479 shares in the last quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 93.9% in the second quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 7,709 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,446,000 after acquiring an additional 3,733 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Capital Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.0% during the second quarter. Royal Capital Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,228 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,488,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,349,953.73. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 17,378 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.85, for a total transaction of $7,157,129.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 150,161 shares in the company, valued at $61,843,807.85. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $422.54 on Monday. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $360.36 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $421.09 and a 200-day moving average of $425.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market cap of $3.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.91.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The company had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.99 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wedbush reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $503.03.

About Microsoft

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.