Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Bard Financial Services Inc.’s 2nd Largest Position

Bard Financial Services Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 71.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 55,111 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 137,447 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 4.9% of Bard Financial Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $23,715,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its position in Microsoft by 169.2% during the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $75,000. Bellevue Group AG raised its stake in Microsoft by 47.5% during the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 241.4% in the second quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC now owns 379 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $169,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $417.79 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $422.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $426.21. The stock has a market cap of $3.11 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.47, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.91. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $362.90 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its 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 the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.99 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.94 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

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

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors 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 repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 31st. DA Davidson cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $503.03.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total transaction of $1,027,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,552,000. This represents a 4.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. This trade represents a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 197,829 shares of company stock worth $80,966,837 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.