WealthBridge Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 4.5% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 11,520 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 547 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 1.7% of WealthBridge Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. WealthBridge Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,149,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its holdings in Microsoft by 169.2% in the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Richardson Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1,290.0% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $75,000. Bellevue Group AG increased its stake in Microsoft by 47.5% in the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the first quarter valued at approximately $80,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total value of $6,009,869.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,349,953.73. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Microsoft Stock Up 0.1 %
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.69 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current year.
Microsoft announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.
Microsoft Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 28.74%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of brokerages have weighed in on MSFT. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Argus raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $495.68.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on MSFT
Microsoft Profile
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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