Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Naples Global Advisors LLC’s 2nd Largest Position

Posted by Defense World Staff on Oct 5th, 2023

Naples Global Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,393 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 3.0% of Naples Global Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Naples Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $25,334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. DGS Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 19.9% during the 1st quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 14,342 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,422,000 after acquiring an additional 2,383 shares in the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 20.8% in the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 1,138,469 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $351,001,000 after buying an additional 196,338 shares during the period. Altus Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Altus Wealth Group LLC now owns 12,712 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,919,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Powell Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 16.2% in the 1st quarter. Powell Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,578 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $795,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the period. Finally, Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,782 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,921,000 after buying an additional 512 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $318.96 on Thursday. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $213.43 and a 1-year high of $366.78. The stock has a market cap of $2.37 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $325.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $319.01.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Microsoft had a net margin of 34.15% and a return on equity of 38.70%. The firm had revenue of $56.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.23 earnings per share. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 10.9 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 16th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 15th. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 28.07%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $398.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $350.00 to $415.00 in a report on Friday, July 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $376.34.

View Our Latest Report on Microsoft

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.20, for a total value of $16,860,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 588,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $198,301,924.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.20, for a total value of $16,860,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 588,084 shares in the company, valued at $198,301,924.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.37, for a total transaction of $8,778,426.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 198,373 shares in the company, valued at $64,941,369.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 115,049 shares of company stock valued at $38,195,619 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.