1,200 Shares in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Acquired by West Tower Group LLC

West Tower Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,200 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $506,000. Microsoft makes up approximately 1.1% of West Tower Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 165,024,812 shares of the software giant's stock worth $70,790,682,000 after purchasing an additional 3,264,648 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 54,590,791 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $23,490,417,000 after buying an additional 2,125,030 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,052,704 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $20,675,715,000 after buying an additional 1,823,579 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 38,420,657 shares of the software giant's stock worth $16,104,959,000 after acquiring an additional 406,940 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 28,228,502 shares of the software giant's stock worth $11,898,314,000 after acquiring an additional 324,052 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT stock traded up $10.51 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $460.69. 20,932,633 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,585,267. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market cap of $3.42 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $403.62 and a 200 day moving average of $414.03.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.94 EPS. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.66%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total transaction of $7,330,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 98,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,906,221.80. The trade was a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 134,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 131,743 shares of company stock valued at $58,375,673. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on MSFT. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $513.13.

Microsoft 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.