Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE lessened its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,775 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,013 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 4.8% of Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $20,696,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 634,238,715 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $147,714,197,000 after acquiring an additional 6,129,708 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 295,509,547 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $68,824,173,000 after acquiring an additional 1,951,554 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 200,523,373 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $57,810,889,000 after acquiring an additional 1,537,712 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 195,859,819 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $50,302,677,000 after acquiring an additional 556,020 shares during the period. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 112,158.6% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 150,187,424 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $36,017,948,000 after acquiring an additional 150,053,637 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. UBS Group raised shares of Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $345.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday, July 14th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, September 21st. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $320.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 24th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.61.
Insider Transactions at Microsoft
In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.20, for a total transaction of $16,860,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 588,084 shares in the company, valued at $198,301,924.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $262,963,391.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 588,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $198,301,924.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 115,049 shares of company stock worth $38,195,619. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft Price Performance
MSFT opened at $332.64 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $324.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $322.21. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $213.43 and a 1 year high of $366.78. 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 market capitalization of $2.47 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.91.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The software giant reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.14. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.70% and a net margin of 34.15%. The business had revenue of $56.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 15th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 30.96%.
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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