Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Reduces Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. reduced its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 900,855 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 42,757 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 3.7% of Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $402,637,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $35,920,047,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 664,908,939 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $250,032,357,000 after purchasing an additional 15,701,937 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the first quarter valued at about $5,587,119,000. TCI Fund Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $4,000,376,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 77.6% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 6,281,925 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,642,931,000 after purchasing an additional 2,744,900 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $435.15 on Wednesday. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $309.45 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $422.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $423.73. The company has a market cap of $3.23 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.68, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The company had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.69 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,349,953.73. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $506.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. New Street Research started coverage on Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $570.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $494.72.

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.