Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Lifted by Bank of New Hampshire

Bank of New Hampshire increased its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 15.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,567 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,913 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 4.0% of Bank of New Hampshire’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Bank of New Hampshire’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $15,384,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $58,000. PayPay Securities Corp grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 188 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Cooksen Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $86,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 160.7% during the fourth quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. now owns 232 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of MSFT opened at $449.78 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.34 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.94, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.89. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $309.45 and a one year high of $450.94. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $419.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $407.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The business had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.45 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 25.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 322 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $416.60, for a total transaction of $134,145.20. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,686,433. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total value of $10,642,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,674,690.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 322 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.60, for a total transaction of $134,145.20. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,686,433. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 25,566 shares of company stock worth $10,877,535. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $467.12.

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.