Blue Square Asset Management's Stake in Microsoft Co.

Blue Square Asset Management LLC has increased its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.1% during the second quarter, as reported by HoldingsChannel. By the end of this period, the firm owned 8,248 shares of Microsoft after acquiring an additional 169 shares. Microsoft represents about 2.1% of Blue Square's overall holdings, making it the firm's 15th largest investment. The value of Blue Square's holdings in Microsoft reached approximately $3.69 million.

In addition to Blue Square, numerous institutional investors have traded shares of Microsoft. For instance, Swedbank AB established a new position in Microsoft worth about $5.59 billion during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. also raised its holdings in Microsoft by 0.5%, owning 667,987,038 shares valued at around $281 billion after acquiring an additional 3,078,099 shares in the last quarter. Similarly, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its Microsoft stake by 77.6%, now owning 6,281,925 shares valued at $2.64 billion after purchasing 2,744,900 shares recently. Other notable purchases include Global Assets Advisory LLC and M&G Plc, which acquired stakes in Microsoft for $989.81 million and $846.07 million, respectively. Overall, institutional investors and hedge funds control 71.13% of Microsoft’s stock.

Microsoft's Price Movements

On Friday, shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) opened at $428.15. The stock has a 52-week low of $326.94 and a high of $468.35. The company's financial ratios indicate its stability, with a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.27, and a current ratio of 1.27. Currently, Microsoft has a market capitalization of approximately $3.18 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24, and a beta of 0.90.

In the most recent quarterly earnings report released on July 30th, Microsoft announced earnings per share (EPS) of $2.95, exceeding analyst expectations of $2.90. The company’s revenue for the quarter was reported at $64.73 billion, surpassing the forecast of $64.38 billion. Microsoft also showed a strong return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 15.2%. Analysts predict that Microsoft will achieve an EPS of 13.02 for the current fiscal year.

Dividend Increase and Share Buyback

Recently, Microsoft announced a quarterly dividend set to be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders on record as of November 21st will receive a dividend of $0.83 per share, up from the previous quarterly rate of $0.75. This reflects an annualized dividend of $3.32, giving a yield of 0.78%, with a current payout ratio of 28.74%.

Additionally, Microsoft’s board has approved a share repurchase program allowing the company to buy back $60 billion of its own shares, which signifies confidence in the stock's valuation according to management.

Analyst Ratings on Microsoft

Recently, several equities analysts have released their evaluations on Microsoft shares. DA Davidson downgraded its rating from “buy” to “neutral,” with a price target set at $475.00. Piper Sandler reduced their target from $485.00 to $470.00 but maintained an “overweight” rating. Meanwhile, Wedbush reiterated an “underperform” rating. Morgan Stanley and KeyCorp, however, expressed optimism with “overweight” ratings, setting target prices of $506.00 and $505.00, respectively. Currently, one analyst rated it a sell, three assigned a hold rating, and twenty-six have a buy rating, indicating an overall average rating of “Moderate Buy” with a consensus target of $502.97.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In recent insider trading news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares at $408.63 each, totaling about $32 million. He now holds 864,327 shares valued at around $353 million. Additionally, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares at an average price of $410.55, worth approximately $15.6 million, leaving her with 496,369 shares valued at around $203 million. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 190,629 shares valued at $77.9 million, and current insider ownership stands at 0.03%.

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a global leader in software, services, devices, and solutions. Their offerings include a variety of products designed for productivity and business processes, such as Microsoft Office suites, Teams, and security solutions.

BlueSquare, Microsoft, Investments