Peoples Bank OH Purchases 260 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Peoples Bank OH raised its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,556 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 260 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.1% of Peoples Bank OH’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Peoples Bank OH’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,112,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% in the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth approximately $75,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 10.1% in the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $145,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 241.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC now owns 379 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $169,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $436.60 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $427.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $428.32. The company has a market capitalization of $3.25 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.02, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $366.50 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 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 business had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.99 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

Microsoft declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the software giant to repurchase 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 Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $508.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total value of $1,118,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 49,352 shares in the company, valued at $22,080,578.32. This represents a 4.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.