Western Wealth Management LLC Increases Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Western Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 76,078 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,956 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 2.5% of Western Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Western Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $34,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bayesian Capital Management LP increased its position in Microsoft by 60.1% during the fourth quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 48,500 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $18,238,000 after acquiring an additional 18,200 shares during the last quarter. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,767 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,545,000 after acquiring an additional 956 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its position in Microsoft by 0.4% during the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 1,307,487 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $550,086,000 after acquiring an additional 5,253 shares during the last quarter. True Link Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 296.7% during the first quarter. True Link Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,027 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,274,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $9,538,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at $219,349,953.73. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total transaction of $15,600,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at $203,784,292.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT stock opened at $430.81 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.20 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.30, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $421.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $423.78. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $309.45 and a one 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.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 25.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. New Street Research started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, June 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $570.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $494.72.

Microsoft Company 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.