Andra AP fonden Sells 64,000 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Andra AP fonden reduced its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 25.8% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 183,900 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 64,000 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 1.4% of Andra AP fonden’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Andra AP fonden’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $82,194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Sachetta LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.8% during the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 10,929 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,622,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. Insight Inv LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 9,557 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,272,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% in the second quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 138,693 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $61,989,000 after acquiring an additional 637 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 44.4% during the second quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 60,603 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $27,087,000 after acquiring an additional 18,638 shares during the period. Finally, LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. raised its holdings in Microsoft by 230.3% during the second quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 116,736 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $52,175,000 after purchasing an additional 81,392 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MSFT. Argus lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Wedbush reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. DA Davidson cut shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $495.94.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $428.15 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.18 trillion, a price-to-earnings 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 current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $326.94 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $420.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $424.56.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 28.74%.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback 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 usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,552,000. This trade 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 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.