Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. Has $101.52 Million Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. cut its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 227,129 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,579 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 9.4% of Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $101,516,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its stake in Microsoft by 169.2% during the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Richardson Capital Management LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 1,290.0% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $75,000. Bellevue Group AG boosted its position in Microsoft by 47.5% during the 1st 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. Finally, Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the first quarter worth $80,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at $219,349,953.73. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $328,473,703.53. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on MSFT. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $485.00 to $470.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $495.94.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $428.15 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.18 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $420.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $424.56. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $326.94 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.69 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate 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 plan on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 28.74%.

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.