Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Has $317.24 Million Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Posted by on Sep 23rd, 2023

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 931,576 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 14,871 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 7.5% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $317,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the first quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 4,208 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,213,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV raised its position in Microsoft by 0.5% during the first quarter. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV now owns 7,166 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,074,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Affiance Financial LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 0.3% during the first quarter. Affiance Financial LLC now owns 10,362 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,988,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 1.3% during the first quarter. Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,898 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $835,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forbes Financial Planning Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 2.0% during the first quarter. Forbes Financial Planning Inc. now owns 1,845 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $532,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $317.01 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $213.43 and a 52 week high of $366.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.77. The company’s fifty day moving average is $331.18 and its 200-day moving average is $315.11. The company has a market capitalization of $2.36 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The software giant reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.14. Microsoft had a net margin of 34.15% and a return on equity of 38.70%. The company had revenue of $56.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 10.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 16th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 28.07%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.37, for a total value of $8,778,426.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,941,369.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.37, for a total transaction of $8,778,426.55. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,941,369.01. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.43, for a total value of $12,557,192.62. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 800,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $262,963,391.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 115,049 shares of company stock valued at $38,195,619 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $340.00 to $405.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $232.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 20th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $310.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and thirty-four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $375.03.

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About Microsoft

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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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)

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