Exchange Bank Sells 285 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Exchange Bank lessened its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,428 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 285 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 3.6% of Exchange Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Exchange Bank’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,387,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $58,000. PayPay Securities Corp boosted its stake in Microsoft by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 188 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Cooksen Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $86,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 160.7% during the 4th quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. now owns 232 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MSFT. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $489.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $455.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, New Street Research began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, June 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $570.00 price target on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $467.12.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related 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 value 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 $19,534,480.83. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,674,690.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,566 shares of company stock valued at $10,877,535 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Up 2.2 %

MSFT stock opened at $456.73 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $424.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $410.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.24. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $309.45 and a fifty-two week high of $457.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.39 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.54, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.89.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The firm had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.45 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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 issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.97%.

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.