Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Holdings Lifted by West Branch Capital LLC

West Branch Capital LLC boosted its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 46,582 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,691 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 8.2% of West Branch Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. West Branch Capital LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $17,517,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 112,158.6% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 150,187,424 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $36,017,948,000 after buying an additional 150,053,637 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $20,700,525,000. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 35,465.9% during the 1st quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 20,611,140 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $66,852,000 after purchasing an additional 20,553,188 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Microsoft by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 119,417,954 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $28,638,815,000 after purchasing an additional 14,652,150 shares during the period. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft by 348.6% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 11,998,927 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $894,426,000 after purchasing an additional 9,324,182 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. KeyCorp started coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $490.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $430.52.

Microsoft Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $413.64 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $415.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $383.26. The firm has a market cap of $3.07 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.89. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $275.37 and a twelve month high of $430.82.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The software giant reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $62.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $61.14 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.40% and a net margin of 36.27%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.32 EPS. Analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.12%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total value of $8,868,941.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,538,265.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total value of $18,530,100.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 574,129 shares in the company, valued at $236,414,839.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total value of $8,868,941.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,538,265.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock valued at $30,690,456. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.