Foster & Motley Inc. Reduces Microsoft Holdings by 966 Shares

In a recent report to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Foster & Motley Inc. revealed that it has reduced its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.6% during the second quarter of the year. Following the sale of 966 shares, the firm now holds a total of 58,931 shares of the renowned software company. This adjustment means that Microsoft accounts for 1.8% of Foster & Motley Inc.’s investment portfolio, positioning it as the firm's 10th largest investment. As of the latest filing, the value of Foster & Motley Inc.’s Microsoft shares stood at approximately $26,339,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also been active in the Microsoft stock market. For instance, Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc. significantly increased its holdings by 169.2% during the second quarter, acquiring 70 shares valued at around $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares. Similarly, Richardson Capital Management LLC augmented its shares by an impressive 1,290.0% in the first quarter, having secured 139 shares valued at around $59,000, which included a purchase of 129 extra shares. Additionally, Innealta Capital LLC entered into a new investment in Microsoft during the second quarter, with a value close to $75,000. Bellevue Group AG also raised its stake by 47.5% during the first quarter, obtaining 180 shares now valued at $76,000. Moreover, Horizon Financial Services LLC took a new position in Microsoft with a valuation around $80,000. Currently, institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own about 71.13% of Microsoft’s stock.

Recent Analyst Recommendations

Recent evaluations from various equity research analysts have provided insights into Microsoft’s stock. Notably, Wedbush upheld an “underperform” rating for Microsoft shares as of last Friday. Citigroup reduced its price target from $520.00 to $500.00 while maintaining a “buy” rating on July 31st. On October 8th, Oppenheimer updated its rating from “outperform” to “market perform.” Meanwhile, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated its “outperform” rating and set a price target of $500.00 on the same day as Citigroup’s announcement. KeyCorp also raised its price target from $490.00 to $505.00, tagging the stock as “overweight” last Friday. The general consensus among analysts shows that one expert has rated Microsoft stock as a sell, three have issued hold ratings, and twenty-eight analysts have recommended buy ratings. As per MarketBeat.com data, Microsoft is currently rated as a “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $495.68.

Insider Activity

In other developments, key insiders at Microsoft have been selling shares recently. On September 9th, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares at an average price of $402.59, totaling $16,103,600. This sale leaves him with 544,847 shares valued at approximately $219,349,953.73, reflecting no change in percentage ownership. In a similar vein, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares on September 4th at an average price of $408.63, totaling around $32,017,386.39. Following this transaction, Nadella holds 864,327 shares with a valuation of $353,189,942.01, also indicating no percentage change in ownership. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold a total of 190,629 shares worth approximately $77,916,485, and company insiders presently own only 0.03% of Microsoft shares.

Current Performance of Microsoft Stock

As of the recent trading day, Microsoft opened at $418.16. The company holds a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, alongside both a quick ratio and current ratio of 1.27. Microsoft’s stock has experienced a 52-week range, with a low of $324.39 and a high of $468.35, establishing a market capitalization of $3.11 trillion. The price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio sits at 36.20, complemented by a price-to-earnings-growth (PEG) ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90. Additionally, the stock’s fifty-day moving average is $419.66 and its 200-day moving average is $424.49.

Microsoft most recently reported its earnings on July 30th, showing earnings per share (EPS) of $2.95, beating the market’s expectations of $2.90 by $0.05. The company noted a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. Total revenue reached $64.73 billion, surpassing the expected figure of $64.38 billion. Year-over-year, this revenue showed a 15.2% increase. Analysts anticipate that Microsoft will earn approximately 13.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dividend Announcements

Microsoft recently announced a quarterly dividend payment scheduled for December 12th. Shareholders on record as of November 21st will receive a dividend of $0.83, indicating an annualized total of $3.32 and resulting in a dividend yield of 0.79%. This is a notable increase from its prior quarterly dividend of $0.75, with a payout ratio of 28.74%.

Furthermore, Microsoft’s Board of Directors sanctioned a share buyback program on September 16th, enabling the company to repurchase up to $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This authorization allows for the buyback of up to 1.9% of its stock, signaling a belief from the management that its shares are undervalued.

About Microsoft Corporation

Microsoft Corporation is a global leader in software, services, devices, and solutions. Its segments include Productivity and Business Processes, which features products like Office, Exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, and Microsoft 365, among other services catering to business and consumer needs.

Foster, Microsoft, Investors