WestEnd Advisors LLC Has $51.28 Million Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

WestEnd Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 103,097 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,227 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 1.3% of WestEnd Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. WestEnd Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $51,283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 386.7% in the second quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Newton One Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% in the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $69,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $525.76 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The stock has a market cap of $3.91 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $513.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $485.93.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.48. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.71% and a return on equity of 33.47%. The company had revenue of $77.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. Microsoft has set its Q2 2026 guidance at EPS. Analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 24.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $650.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, October 24th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $625.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $586.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.67.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total value of $2,557,502.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. The trade was a 11.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $504.78, for a total value of $75,315,699.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 790,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $399,206,272.56. This represents a 15.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft 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.