West Bancorporation Inc. Has $3.12 Million Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

West Bancorporation Inc. lowered its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,319 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 63 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 2.1% of West Bancorporation Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. West Bancorporation Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,123,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Newton One Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 50.0% in the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total value of $7,330,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 98,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. The trade was a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 46,350 shares of company stock worth $21,493,447. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $522.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.88 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $501.60 and its 200-day moving average is $440.51. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.95 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $580.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $609.86.

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.