Focused Investors LLC Lowers Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Oct 31st, 2023

Focused Investors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 5.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 631,350 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 38,550 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 7.2% of Focused Investors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Focused Investors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $215,000,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 634,238,715 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $147,714,197,000 after purchasing an additional 6,129,708 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position 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 buying an additional 1,951,554 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings 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 last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Microsoft by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 195,859,819 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $50,302,677,000 after acquiring an additional 556,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 112,158.6% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 150,187,424 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $36,017,948,000 after purchasing an additional 150,053,637 shares in the last quarter. 69.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.37, for a total transaction of $8,778,426.55. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 198,373 shares in the company, valued at $64,941,369.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of Microsoft 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 800,668 shares in the company, valued at $262,963,391.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $337.31 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.51 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.65, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.64. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $213.43 and a 1 year high of $366.78. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $326.98 and its 200 day moving average is $325.31.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.79% and a net margin of 35.31%. The firm had revenue of $56.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.35 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 16th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. 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 29.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MSFT. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Microsoft from $398.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 20th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 17th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $320.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $390.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, October 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $384.34.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Microsoft

Microsoft 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.