Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Westwood Wealth Management

Westwood Wealth Management cut its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,194 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,258 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 4.4% of Westwood Wealth Management's holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Westwood Wealth Management's holdings in Microsoft were worth $12,305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,967 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,515,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. now owns 315,594 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $133,023,000 after purchasing an additional 18,052 shares during the period. 1900 Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,140 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $4,274,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. now owns 17,426 shares of the software giant's stock worth $7,345,000 after buying an additional 1,268 shares during the period. Finally, Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 147.9% in the 4th quarter. Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. now owns 1,748 shares of the software giant's stock worth $737,000 after buying an additional 1,043 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock traded up $6.25 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $478.87. 18,905,074 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,507,291. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $480.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $423.22 and a 200 day moving average of $417.84. The firm has a market cap of $3.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.56, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $1,389,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,339,590. This represents a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. The trade was a 1.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $513.89.

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.