Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Position Increased by West Oak Capital LLC

West Oak Capital LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,308 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 2.4% of West Oak Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. West Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,948,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $35,920,047,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Microsoft by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 664,908,939 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $250,032,357,000 after purchasing an additional 15,701,937 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the first quarter worth about $5,587,119,000. TCI Fund Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $4,000,376,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in Microsoft by 77.6% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 6,281,925 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,642,931,000 after buying an additional 2,744,900 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total value of $6,009,869.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total transaction of $6,009,869.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total value of $1,027,600.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,552,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. New Street Research initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $570.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $493.94.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $428.02 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.18 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.06, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $309.45 and a one year high of $468.35. The company’s fifty day moving average is $419.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $424.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The firm had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.69 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

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.