Mackenzie Financial Corp Reduces Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Mackenzie Financial Corp decreased its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.5% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,349,199 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 26,969 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 3.6% of Mackenzie Financial Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,390,824,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Marathon Capital Management boosted its position in Microsoft by 4.1% during the second quarter. Marathon Capital Management now owns 25,533 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $11,412,000 after purchasing an additional 1,014 shares in the last quarter. Mark Asset Management LP boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Mark Asset Management LP now owns 83,351 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $37,254,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Private Capital Group LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 7.5% during the second quarter. Matrix Private Capital Group LLC now owns 3,691 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,650,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. boosted its position in Microsoft by 226.4% during the second quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 600,004 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $268,172,000 after purchasing an additional 416,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 1,963.1% during the second quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 504,212 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $225,358,000 after purchasing an additional 479,772 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $423.03 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $421.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $425.32. The stock has a market cap of $3.15 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $362.90 and a one year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The business’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.99 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

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 value of $6,009,869.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total value of $1,027,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,552,000. This trade represents 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 have sold 197,829 shares of company stock valued at $80,966,837. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Wedbush reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 28th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $503.03.

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.