Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stake Decreased by Mawer Investment Management Ltd.

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lessened its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,281,722 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 50,558 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 6.9% of Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,466,766,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% in the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 1,290.0% during the first quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter worth $75,000. Bellevue Group AG grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 47.5% in the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the first quarter valued at $80,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.8 %

MSFT stock opened at $428.15 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $420.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $424.58. The stock has a market cap of $3.18 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.07, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $326.94 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.69 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.74%.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $485.00 to $470.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Wedbush reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $502.97.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total value of $1,027,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,552,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total transaction of $1,027,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,552,000. The trade was 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 currently owned by company insiders.

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.