Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Bought by Mark Asset Management LP

Mark Asset Management LP raised its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 83,351 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 3.7% of Mark Asset Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Mark Asset Management LP’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $37,254,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Microsoft in the first quarter valued at $5,587,119,000. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 47,196.6% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 4,834,658 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,160,850,000 after purchasing an additional 4,824,436 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 667,987,038 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $281,035,506,000 after purchasing an additional 3,078,099 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 77.6% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 6,281,925 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,642,931,000 after purchasing an additional 2,744,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc purchased a new position in Microsoft in the first quarter valued at about $846,072,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total value of $15,600,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,784,292.95. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total value of $15,600,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,784,292.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 197,829 shares of company stock valued at $80,966,837 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $423.03 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.15 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.90, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $421.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $425.32. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $362.90 and a 52-week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. Microsoft’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.99 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup cut their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $503.03.

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.