West Family Investments Inc. reduced its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,711 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 864 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 3.2% of West Family Investments Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. West Family Investments Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,151,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Avondale Wealth Management grew its holdings in Microsoft by 144.4% during the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at about $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research firms have weighed in on MSFT. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Microsoft from $472.00 to $482.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $507.77.
Read Our Latest Report on Microsoft
Microsoft Stock Performance
NASDAQ MSFT traded up $3.80 on Wednesday, hitting $452.94. 19,864,490 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,486,259. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.37 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $391.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $411.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The firm's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.94 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.
Microsoft Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.66%.
Insider Activity at Microsoft
In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total transaction of $32,703,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 476,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Microsoft Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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