Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD trimmed its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 31.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,817 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 9,802 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.5% of Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Tichoniim Havera Menahelet LTD’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,334,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Monumental Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the first quarter worth $28,000. Gleason Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 111.7% in the first 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 raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 157.0% in the first quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 203 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. MayTech Global Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $83,000. Finally, Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 57.5% in the third quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 411 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. 69.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insider Transactions at Microsoft
In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The stock was 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 directly owns 198,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,941,369.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 800,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,963,391.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.37, for a total value of $8,778,426.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,373 shares of the company’s stock, 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 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Microsoft Trading Up 0.6 %
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 24th. The software giant reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $56.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.52 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.79% and a net margin of 35.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.35 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 11.07 EPS for the current year.
Microsoft Increases Dividend
The firm 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 dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.33%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. StockNews.com started coverage on Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $385.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, September 22nd. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $370.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $398.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 20th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on Microsoft from $320.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $384.34.
Get Our Latest Analysis on Microsoft
About Microsoft
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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