Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Holdings Lifted by Blue Square Asset Management LLC

Posted by Defense World Staff on Oct 26th, 2023

Blue Square Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 195.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,298 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,168 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 1.5% of Blue Square Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Blue Square Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,145,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Monumental Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Gleason Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 111.7% in the 1st quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 199 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Syverson Strege & Co lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 157.0% in the 1st quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 203 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 39.0% during the second quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 303 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Alapocas Investment Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft during the first quarter valued at approximately $97,000. 69.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $340.67 on Thursday. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $213.43 and a 52 week high of $366.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.53 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.16, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.77. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $326.19 and its 200-day moving average is $324.09.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 24th. The software giant reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.34. Microsoft had a net margin of 34.15% and a return on equity of 38.70%. The firm had revenue of $56.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.35 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 10.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 16th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.96%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 800,668 shares in the company, valued at $262,963,391.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.43, for a total transaction of $12,557,192.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 800,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,963,391.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.20, for a total transaction of $16,860,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 588,084 shares in the company, valued at $198,301,924.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 115,049 shares of company stock worth $38,195,619 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $398.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 20th. UBS Group raised Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $345.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Friday, July 14th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $340.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 18th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $415.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $379.93.

Read Our Latest Analysis on MSFT

About Microsoft

(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.