Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 6.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 816,800 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 48,400 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 6.2% of Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $278,153,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 boosted its stake in Microsoft by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 now owns 31,961 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $10,884,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA boosted its stake in Microsoft by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA now owns 62,871 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $21,410,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC now owns 2,797 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $952,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Compass Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 54.2% in the 2nd quarter. Compass Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,727 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $588,000 after buying an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenhouse Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Greenhouse Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,804 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,295,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. 69.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft
In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.20, for a total value of $16,860,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 588,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $198,301,924.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 800,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,963,391.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $198,301,924.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 115,049 shares of company stock valued at $38,195,619 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft Stock Up 0.8 %
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The software giant reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $56.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.49 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.70% and a net margin of 34.15%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.23 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 10.9 EPS for the current year.
Microsoft Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 28.07%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
MSFT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Microsoft from $330.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. HSBC began coverage on Microsoft in a report on Friday, September 15th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $347.00 price objective on the stock. Redburn Partners cut their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 11th. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on Microsoft from $371.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $376.34.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Microsoft
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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