UP Strategic Wealth Investment Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

UP Strategic Wealth Investment Advisors LLC has increased its investment in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 8.9% during the second quarter, as reported by Holdings Channel. The firm now owns a total of 4,422 shares of the tech giant's stock after purchasing an additional 361 shares during this period. Microsoft represents approximately 3.0% of UP Strategic Wealth Investment Advisors LLC's overall portfolio, making it the firm's ninth largest investment. At the end of the latest reporting period, these shares were valued at about $1,976,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their investments in Microsoft. New Harbor Financial Group LLC increased its stake by 55.9%, now holding 1,255 shares valued at $561,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares. Similarly, Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position by 25.7%, owning 250,657 shares worth $112,031,000 after an extra purchase of 51,273 shares. AMG National Trust Bank also increased its stake by 19.0%, holding 81,502 shares valued at $36,427,000 following an acquisition of 12,994 shares. True Link Financial Advisors LLC made a significant change by increasing its stake by 296.7% earlier this year, now owning 3,027 shares valued at $1,274,000. Additionally, Spinnaker Investment Group LLC lifted its stake by 2.7%, owning 12,521 shares worth $5,268,000 after purchasing another 326 shares. Notably, institutional investors and hedge funds now own 71.13% of Microsoft stock.

Recent Insider Transactions

In recent insider news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of Microsoft on September 4th, fetching an average price of $408.63 per share for a total of $32,017,386.39. After this transaction, Nadella holds 864,327 shares, with a total value of about $353,189,942.01, reflecting a 0.00% change in his stake. The details of this sale were disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Earlier, on September 10th, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 17,378 shares at an average price of $411.85, totaling approximately $7,157,129.30. Following this sale, Hogan now owns 150,161 shares worth about $61,843,807.85, also showing a 0.00% change in ownership. In total, insiders sold 190,629 shares last quarter amounting to $77,916,485, with insiders holding 0.03% of the stock.

Analysts' Ratings and Forecasts

Wall Street analysts have been actively providing their insights on Microsoft stock. DA Davidson recently downgraded its rating from “buy” to “neutral” with a target price of $475.00. In a separate analysis, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target from $470.00 to $465.00 while maintaining an “overweight” rating. Morgan Stanley, however, increased its price objective from $506.00 to $548.00 and also gave an “overweight” rating. Meanwhile, Truist Financial reaffirmed its “buy” rating with a target price set at $600.00. Additionally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut its price target to $500.00 with an “outperform” rating. Out of the analysts, one rated the stock as a sell, three issued hold ratings, and twenty-six recommended buying shares. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $503.03.

Microsoft Stock Performance

On Wednesday, shares of Microsoft opened at $411.46. The company has experienced a yearly low of $353.35 and a high of $468.35. The 50-day moving average is $420.55 while the 200-day moving average is $424.83. Financial ratios show a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29, and a low debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Microsoft holds a market capitalization of $3.06 trillion with a PE ratio standing at 33.95 and a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16. The stock's beta is noted at 0.91.

Microsoft recently reported its quarterly earnings on October 30th, revealing earnings per share of $3.30, surpassing analysts' expectations of $3.10 by $0.20. The revenue for the quarter was recorded at $65.59 billion, exceeding the forecasts of $64.57 billion. With a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%, the revenue increased by 16.0% year over year. Analysts predict that Microsoft will report an EPS of 12.96 for the current fiscal year.

The board of Microsoft also announced a significant share repurchase plan allowing the company to repurchase $60.00 billion worth of shares, which is about 1.9% of its total shares, signaling management's belief that shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company has recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on December 12th. Shareholders registered by November 21st will receive a dividend of $0.83 per share, up from the previous dividend of $0.75. This change indicates a yearly dividend of $3.32 with a yield of 0.81%. The dividend payout ratio stands at 24.75%.

About Microsoft Corporation

Microsoft Corporation specializes in developing and supporting computer software, services, devices, and solutions on a global scale. The firm operates various segments that include productivity services, business processes, and cloud solutions, not to mention consumer applications and subscription services like Microsoft 365.

Microsoft, Investment, Stocks