Covington Investment Advisors Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. reduced its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.5% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 89,342 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,336 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 6.4% of Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $39,932,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Second Line Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 28.3% in the second quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 14,186 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,341,000 after acquiring an additional 3,132 shares during the period. Wallace Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC now owns 7,574 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,385,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,537,000. Granite FO LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,707,000. Finally, Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.8% during the second quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 17,023 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,609,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT opened at $426.89 on Friday. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $421.71 and a 200 day moving average of $425.43. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $362.90 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The stock has a market cap of $3.17 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.22, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.91.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.75%.

Microsoft announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MSFT. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 28th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. DA Davidson cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One equities 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $503.03.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total transaction of $1,027,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,552,000. This trade represents a 4.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total transaction of $15,600,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 496,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,784,292.95. The trade was a 7.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 197,829 shares of company stock worth $80,966,837. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.