Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 7.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 501,324 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 39,645 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 1.0% of Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $224,067,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arista Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 213.0% in the second quarter. Arista Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,997 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,681,000 after acquiring an additional 4,081 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 9.1% during the second quarter. Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 11,232 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,020,000 after purchasing an additional 935 shares in the last quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC now owns 30,280 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $13,444,000 after purchasing an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. TPG Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,702,000. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 69.3% during the 2nd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 116,557 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $52,095,000 after purchasing an additional 47,703 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $503.03.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $353,189,942.01. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $425.43 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.16 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.10, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $360.36 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $420.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $424.80.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 prior year, the company earned $2.99 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.95 earnings per share 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 paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.39%.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.