Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s 2nd Largest Position

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. trimmed its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 882,139 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 18,716 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 3.4% of Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $379,584,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 14.7% during the third quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 20,038 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $8,622,000 after buying an additional 2,567 shares during the period. River Street Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.6% during the third quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 12,256 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,274,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 3.3% during the third quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 31,311 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $13,473,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.9% during the third quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 18,991 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $8,172,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares during the period. Finally, Straight Path Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 21.5% during the third quarter. Straight Path Wealth Management now owns 700 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $428.50 on Wednesday. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $385.58 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.19 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.35, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $429.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $425.92.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The company’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at $43,792,039.56. This represents a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total value of $1,118,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 49,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,080,578.32. This represents a 4.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Microsoft in a report on Friday, January 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $509.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $512.93.

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.