Ellerson Group Inc. ADV Cuts Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Ellerson Group Inc. ADV lessened its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 17.4% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 521 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 110 shares during the quarter. Ellerson Group Inc. ADV’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $233,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 667,987,038 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $281,035,506,000 after purchasing an additional 3,078,099 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 83,571,070 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $35,160,020,000 after buying an additional 842,884 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 14,738,956 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,587,576,000 after buying an additional 45,220 shares during the period. Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 13,640,068 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,096,428,000 after buying an additional 360,171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 15.6% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 11,931,721 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,019,942,000 after acquiring an additional 1,613,050 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on MSFT. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $485.00 to $470.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $506.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Mizuho increased their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $502.97.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total transaction of $6,009,869.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 17,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.85, for a total value of $7,157,129.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 150,161 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,843,807.85. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.8 %

MSFT stock opened at $428.15 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.18 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.90. 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 Co. has a one year low of $326.94 and a one year high of $468.35. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $420.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $424.58.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.05. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The company had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.69 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.74%.

Microsoft announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Company 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.