First Bancorp Inc ME Has $4.59 Million Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

First Bancorp Inc ME trimmed its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,918 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 360 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 3.5% of First Bancorp Inc ME’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. First Bancorp Inc ME’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $58,000. PayPay Securities Corp raised its stake in Microsoft by 23.7% during the fourth 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 purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $86,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 160.7% in the 4th quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. now owns 232 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,534,480.83. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the 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 directly owns 47,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,534,480.83. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business’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 transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,566 shares of company stock worth $10,877,535 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT opened at $456.73 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.39 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The business’s 50-day moving average is $424.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $410.15. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $309.45 and a 1 year high of $457.37.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $61.86 billion during 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%. Microsoft’s revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.45 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $455.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $489.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $467.12.

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.