IBM Retirement Fund trimmed its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 120,577 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 4,812 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 3.4% of IBM Retirement Fund’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. IBM Retirement Fund’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $19,015,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Krane Funds Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth $26,000. Selective Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter worth $36,000. Atwater Malick LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter worth $37,000. AlphaOne Investment Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth $51,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 48.9% during the second quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 521 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. 71.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Several research firms have recently weighed in on MSFT. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Microsoft from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. BidaskClub upgraded Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $169.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Cowen lifted their target price on Microsoft from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research upgraded Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $147.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.59.
In related news, CMO Christopher C. Capossela sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.89, for a total value of $357,225.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 133,944 shares in the company, valued at $19,139,258.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Margaret L. Johnson sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.01, for a total value of $5,250,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 62,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,364,074.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,919 shares of company stock worth $9,817,790 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.39% of the company’s stock.
Shares of MSFT stock traded down $1.45 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $157.58. 21,633,716 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,593,580. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $100.98 and a 1 year high of $160.73. The stock has a market cap of $1,202.15 billion, a PE ratio of 33.17, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.85, a quick ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $154.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.55.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The software giant reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.14. Microsoft had a return on equity of 39.14% and a net margin of 31.66%. The business had revenue of $33.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 5.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 42.95%.
Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, September 18th that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the software giant to buy up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
Microsoft Company Profile
Microsoft Corporation develops, licenses, and supports software, services, devices, and solutions worldwide. Its company’s Productivity and Business Processes segment offers Office 365 commercial products and services, such as Office, Exchange, SharePoint, Skype for Business, Microsoft Teams, and related Client Access Licenses (CALs); Office 365 consumer services, including Skype, Outlook.com, and OneDrive; LinkedIn online professional network; and Dynamics business solutions comprising financial management, enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management, supply chain management, and analytics applications for small and medium businesses, large organizations, and divisions of enterprises.
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