Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Westchester Capital Management Inc.

Westchester Capital Management Inc. cut its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 80,267 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,436 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 8.1% of Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $30,184,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 89.0% in the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth $87,000. Family CFO Inc increased its holdings in Microsoft by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Family CFO Inc now owns 359 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Cordant Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 647.8% in the fourth quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 344 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $146,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $465.00 price target (up previously from $455.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $455.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $452.61.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total value of $1,950,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,770,926.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total transaction of $1,950,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,677,398 shares in the company, valued at $22,770,926.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total transaction of $8,868,941.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 159,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,538,265.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $410.54 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $413.84 and a 200-day moving average of $392.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.24. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $306.26 and a 52 week high of $430.82.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.45 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.97%.

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.