Westmount Partners LLC Increases Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Westmount Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,465 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 702 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 4.7% of Westmount Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Westmount Partners LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $15,370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Avondale Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $520.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $510.96.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.48, for a total transaction of $423,480.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 56,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,931,278.28. This represents a 1.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,493,820. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT traded down $5.77 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $410.36. The company had a trading volume of 13,673,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,098,506. The company's 50 day moving average price is $425.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $422.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market cap of $3.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $385.58 and a 52-week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.93 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.73%.

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.