27,161 Shares in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Purchased by Westend Capital Management LLC

Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 27,161 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $11,427,000. Microsoft makes up approximately 4.4% of Westend Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Starfox Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the third quarter valued at approximately $183,000. Sonata Capital Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 11.3% during the third quarter. Sonata Capital Group Inc. now owns 30,258 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,554,000 after purchasing an additional 3,067 shares in the last quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.3% during the third quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 13,785 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,353,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. Must Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 30.0% during the third quarter. Must Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,191 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $996,000 after purchasing an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IvyRock Asset Management HK Ltd boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 38.0% during the third quarter. IvyRock Asset Management HK Ltd now owns 1,090 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $446.95 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $309.45 and a 12-month high of $456.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.32 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $424.11 and a 200-day moving average of $409.66.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The company had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 25.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total value of $101,389.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,534,480.83. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total value of $101,389.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,534,480.83. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total transaction of $10,642,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,674,690.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,566 shares of company stock valued at $10,877,535. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $455.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Macquarie lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $460.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $467.12.

About Microsoft

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.