Arlington Partners LLC Sells 315 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Arlington Partners LLC decreased its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,015 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 315 shares during the quarter. Arlington Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,135,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased 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. Richardson Capital Management LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 1,290.0% during the first quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Bellevue Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 47.5% in the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $80,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT opened at $424.60 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $420.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $424.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.16 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $326.94 and a 12-month high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. The business’s quarterly revenue 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 anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.74%.

Microsoft declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $506.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $495.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total value of $6,009,869.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $328,473,703.53. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $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. Insiders have sold a total of 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

About Microsoft

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.