Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stake Lessened by Beacon Financial Group

Posted by Defense World Staff on Oct 20th, 2023

Beacon Financial Group trimmed its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 0.6% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 18,728 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 106 shares during the quarter. Beacon Financial Group’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sendero Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 9.7% during the second quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC now owns 42,574 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $14,498,000 after purchasing an additional 3,771 shares during the last quarter. Benedetti & Gucer Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 16.4% during the 2nd quarter. Benedetti & Gucer Inc. now owns 7,905 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,692,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111 shares during the period. Fusion Family Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $224,000. Lazari Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,972,000. Finally, Cardinal Strategic Wealth Guidance increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% in the second quarter. Cardinal Strategic Wealth Guidance now owns 10,199 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,462,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 69.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT opened at $331.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.77. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $213.43 and a 52 week high of $366.78. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $325.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $322.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.91.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The software giant reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $56.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.49 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.70% and a net margin of 34.15%. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.23 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate 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 dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 15th. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 28.07%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

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 sale, the insider now directly owns 588,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $198,301,924.80. The sale 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,963,391.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 115,049 shares of company stock valued at $38,195,619. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on MSFT. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Microsoft from $320.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 20th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Microsoft from $336.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $330.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $378.11.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on Microsoft

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.