Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Raised by Morse Asset Management Inc

Morse Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,343 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 2,473 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 5.1% of Morse Asset Management Inc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Morse Asset Management Inc's holdings in Microsoft were worth $21,160,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Rebalance LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Rebalance LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,542,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the second quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 6,340 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,834,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Doheny Asset Management CA boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the first quarter. Doheny Asset Management CA now owns 6,397 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,691,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Flagship Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Flagship Private Wealth LLC now owns 913 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Wealth Management boosted its stake in Microsoft by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 9,640 shares of the software giant's stock worth $4,309,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ:MSFT traded down $2.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $422.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 16,891,414 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,265,076. 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 firm has a market capitalization 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $421.09 and a 200-day moving average of $425.07. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $360.36 and a 1 year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.99 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.75%.

Microsoft announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $503.03.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total transaction of $6,009,869.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 544,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at $219,349,953.73. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.