Enzi Wealth Increases Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Enzi Wealth raised its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 8.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,806 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 0.4% of Enzi Wealth’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Enzi Wealth’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $844,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Focus Financial Network Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.8% in the second quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 74,807 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $33,178,000 after purchasing an additional 1,341 shares during the last quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,367,000. BigSur Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. BigSur Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,785 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,033,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Chico Wealth RIA lifted its stake in Microsoft by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Chico Wealth RIA now owns 2,070 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $925,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. Finally, Kraft Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 14.2% during the 2nd quarter. Kraft Asset Management LLC now owns 1,137 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $508,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total value of $6,009,869.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at $328,473,703.53. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total value of $6,009,869.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America raised their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $494.72.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $435.27 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.24 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $420.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $424.18. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $309.45 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.69 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 25.97%.

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.