Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stake Increased by Moody National Bank Trust Division

Moody National Bank Trust Division lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 81,328 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 2.7% of Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $34,216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $58,000. PayPay Securities Corp raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Cooksen Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $86,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $446.34 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $419.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $406.10. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $309.45 and a 52-week high of $450.94. The firm has a market cap of $3.32 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $60.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.45 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors 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 payout ratio is presently 25.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MSFT. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $455.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $465.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total transaction of $101,389.32. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,011 shares in the company, valued at $19,534,480.83. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $44,674,690.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were 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 owns 47,011 shares in the company, valued at $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 worth $10,877,535. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.