Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 15.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,761 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 1,175 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 0.8% of Beacon Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Beacon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,983,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lantz Financial LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 3.6% during the second quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 28,118 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,575,000 after buying an additional 989 shares during the period. Sciencast Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $904,000. Asset Planning Corporation increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Asset Planning Corporation now owns 3,377 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,150,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Market Street Wealth Management Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Market Street Wealth Management Advisors LLC now owns 1,583 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $539,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Professional Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 1.9% during the second quarter. Professional Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,015 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,048,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. 69.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. Guggenheim raised shares of Microsoft from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $320.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 24th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Microsoft from $320.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 20th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $330.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $375.03.
Microsoft Stock Performance
MSFT stock opened at $317.54 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.36 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.77, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $213.43 and a twelve month high of $366.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $330.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $316.86.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The software giant reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $56.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.49 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 34.15% and a return on equity of 38.70%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.23 EPS. Analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 10.9 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 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 16th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.96%.
Insider Transactions at Microsoft
In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.37, for a total value 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 $64,941,369.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The shares were 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 owns 198,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,941,369.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $262,963,391.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 115,049 shares of company stock valued at $38,195,619. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.
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