Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Increased by Independence Bank of Kentucky

Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 34.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,752 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,453 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 4.1% of Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $19,257,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC now owns 232,665 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $100,116,000 after acquiring an additional 856 shares during the period. Trevian Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,713,000. Worth Asset Management LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC now owns 4,219 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,815,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 2.5% in the third quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 9,723 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,184,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CCM Investment Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.3% during the third quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC now owns 68,349 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,411,000 after buying an additional 902 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $422.99 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30. The company has a market cap of $3.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $421.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $426.42. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $362.90 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35.

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 analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.99 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.39%.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. UBS Group decreased their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $503.03.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was 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 approximately $203,784,292.95. This trade represents a 7.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. This represents a 8.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 209,431 shares of company stock worth $85,796,688 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Company 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.