Csenge Advisory Group Cuts Stock Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Csenge Advisory Group lowered its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 58,608 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,183 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 1.4% of Csenge Advisory Group’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Csenge Advisory Group’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $26,981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 386.7% in the 2nd quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. PayPay Securities Corp lifted its stake in Microsoft by 29.9% in the 2nd quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 126 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $69,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $478.54 on Thursday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The stock has a market cap of $3.56 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $508.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $500.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.48. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.71% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The firm had revenue of $77.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total value of $6,266,880.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 129,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,577,620.48. The trade was a 8.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $518.64, for a total value of $19,967,640.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 461,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $239,402,668.08. The trade was a 7.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on MSFT. Mizuho downgraded Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $630.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $675.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, October 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $634.33.

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.