Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Raised by First Community Trust NA

First Community Trust NA raised its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,517 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 1,121 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 8.1% of First Community Trust NA’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. First Community Trust NA’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,632,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Security Advisor Inc. raised its holdings in Microsoft by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Financial Security Advisor Inc. now owns 27,270 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $10,255,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the period. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,887 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,359,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 8,213 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,089,000 after buying an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 60.1% during the 4th 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 period. Finally, RNC Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 69,053 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $25,967,000 after acquiring an additional 6,484 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total transaction of $101,389.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,534,480.83. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total value of $10,642,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,674,690.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total value of $101,389.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,534,480.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 25,566 shares of company stock valued at $10,877,535. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.7 %

Microsoft stock opened at $450.95 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a market cap of $3.35 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $421.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $408.52. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $309.45 and a 12 month high of $452.75.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, May 24th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $480.00 target price (up previously from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, April 26th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 17th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $465.00 price objective (up previously from $455.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Microsoft from $495.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $467.12.

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.