Foundations Investment Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 106,528 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,573 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.2% of Foundations Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $47,613,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Richardson Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $75,000. Bellevue Group AG grew its position in Microsoft by 47.5% in the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the first quarter worth $80,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at $353,189,942.01. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total transaction of $15,600,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at $203,784,292.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Argus lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $495.68.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.1 %

Microsoft stock opened at $416.72 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $419.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $424.54. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $324.39 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.10 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.08, a PEG 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion during 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 revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.69 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock 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 reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.