Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Allegiance Financial Group Advisory Services LLC's 3rd Largest Position

Allegiance Financial Group Advisory Services LLC trimmed its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,177 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 4,537 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 6.9% of Allegiance Financial Group Advisory Services LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Allegiance Financial Group Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $17,957,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $58,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1,290.0% in the first quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant's stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. Bellevue Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 47.5% in the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant's stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the first quarter worth $80,000. Finally, Cooksen Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $86,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $430.62 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $309.45 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The company has a market cap of $3.20 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 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. The stock's 50-day moving average is $419.69 and its 200 day moving average is $424.76.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. Microsoft's revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.69 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. This is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 25.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 864,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the business'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 value of $15,600,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at $203,784,292.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 17th. New Street Research started coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $570.00 price objective for the company. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $493.94.

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.