Weaver Capital Management LLC Has $3.62 Million Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Weaver Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 17.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,100 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 1,213 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 1.2% of Weaver Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Weaver Capital Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,620,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its holdings in Microsoft by 169.2% during the 2nd 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. Richardson Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 1,290.0% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $75,000. Bellevue Group AG increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 47.5% in the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 1st quarter valued at about $80,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at $353,189,942.01. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 owns 496,369 shares of the company's stock, valued at $203,784,292.95. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the firm'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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at $353,189,942.01. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded up $1.44 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $418.16. The company had a trading volume of 15,849,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,299,117. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $324.39 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The firm's 50 day moving average is $419.42 and its 200-day moving average is $424.54.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $64.73 billion during 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%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.69 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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 issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MSFT. TD Cowen upped their price target on Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $495.68.

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.