West Family Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 20.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,575 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,882 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 3.3% of West Family Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. West Family Investments Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,714,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Second Half Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,353,000. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,213,587 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,673,706,000 after acquiring an additional 146,265 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in Microsoft during the third quarter worth about $753,299,000. Vance Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 5.1% in the third quarter. Vance Wealth Inc. now owns 3,947 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,698,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Finally, Spectrum Planning & Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% during the third quarter. Spectrum Planning & Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,733 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,037,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $512.66.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total transaction of $1,118,525.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 49,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,080,578.32. This represents a 4.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,792,039.56. The trade was a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft Stock Down 0.6 %
Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $444.06 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.30 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $431.05 and a 200-day moving average of $425.82. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $385.58 and a 52-week high of $468.35.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.99 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.9 EPS for the current year.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 27.39%.
Microsoft Company 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.
Featured Stories
- Five stocks we like better than Microsoft
- What Are Trending Stocks? Trending Stocks Explained
- Bloom Energy: Powering the Future With Decentralized Energy
- How to Most Effectively Use the MarketBeat Earnings Screener
- Dividend Powerhouses: Blue-Chip Stocks Built for the Long Haul
- ETF Screener: Uses and Step-by-Step Guide
- Why Traders Are Buying the Dip on Johnson & Johnson Stock
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report).
Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.