Axiom Advisory LLC Boosts Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Axiom Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 6.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 113,167 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 7,002 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 0.5% of Axiom Advisory LLC's holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Axiom Advisory LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $48,365,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its position in Microsoft by 169.2% in the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth approximately $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Bellevue Group AG increased its holdings in Microsoft by 47.5% during the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 241.4% in the second quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC now owns 379 shares of the software giant's stock worth $169,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.0 %

MSFT traded up $4.13 during trading on Friday, reaching $417.00. The company had a trading volume of 24,814,626 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,244,906. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. 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 $3.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.41, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $421.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $426.19.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the business earned $2.99 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,552,000. This trade represents a 4.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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 dated 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 approximately $203,784,292.95. This trade represents a 7.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 183,431 shares of company stock valued at $74,956,968. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $503.03.

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.