Security National Bank Sells 58 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Security National Bank lowered its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 44,072 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 58 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 2.6% of Security National Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Security National Bank’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $18,964,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% during the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at about $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Bellevue Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 47.5% in the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 241.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC now owns 379 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $169,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $414.17 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $362.90 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.08 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.91. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $422.21 and its 200-day moving average is $426.05.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.99 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.75%.

Microsoft declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MSFT. Citigroup cut their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $503.03.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total transaction of $15,600,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at $203,784,292.95. This represents a 7.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. The trade was a 8.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 183,431 shares of company stock valued at $74,956,968. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Microsoft

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.