Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Gladstone Capital Management LLP's 2nd Largest Position

Gladstone Capital Management LLP reduced its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 315,150 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 45,954 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 12.4% of Gladstone Capital Management LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Gladstone Capital Management LLP's holdings in Microsoft were worth $140,856,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Certified Advisory Corp lifted its stake in Microsoft by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 13,899 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $6,212,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.1% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 19,968 shares of the software giant's stock worth $9,310,000 after buying an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 59.5% in the 2nd quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,368 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,846,000 after acquiring an additional 2,375 shares during the last quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 80,026 shares of the software giant's stock worth $35,768,000 after acquiring an additional 956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 6.8% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 54,258 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $22,699,000 after purchasing an additional 3,464 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, 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. One 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $503.03.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT traded down $2.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $422.54. 16,891,414 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,265,076. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $360.36 and a 12-month high of $468.35. 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 company has a market cap of $3.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.91. The business's 50-day moving average price is $421.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $425.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $64.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.99 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. This is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.75%.

Microsoft announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at $353,189,942.01. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at $353,189,942.01. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company'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 sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 50,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,552,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. 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.