Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is First National Trust Co’s 4th Largest Position

First National Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 238,816 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 567 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 4.4% of First National Trust Co’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. First National Trust Co’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $106,739,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Rebalance LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% during the second quarter. Rebalance LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,542,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. First National Bank Sioux Falls raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 6,340 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,834,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,202 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,609,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Doheny Asset Management CA grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Doheny Asset Management CA now owns 6,397 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,691,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Flagship Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.8% in the second quarter. Flagship Private Wealth LLC now owns 913 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $408,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $416.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $324.39 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The company has a market cap of $3.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $419.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $424.54.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The company had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.69 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.74%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $506.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $495.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at $353,189,942.01. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 17,378 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.85, for a total value of $7,157,129.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 150,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,843,807.85. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.