Bell Bank Has $14.75 Million Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Bell Bank raised its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,284 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 408 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.7% of Bell Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Bell Bank’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $14,752,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in Microsoft by 27.0% in the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,658,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Colonial River Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.8% during the second quarter. Colonial River Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,227 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,934,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the period. Metropolis Capital Ltd boosted its stake in Microsoft by 34.2% in the 2nd quarter. Metropolis Capital Ltd now owns 234,525 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $104,821,000 after purchasing an additional 59,709 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,042 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,041,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total value of $414,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. The trade was a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $429.03 on Friday. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $385.58 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.19 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $429.32 and its 200-day moving average is $426.58.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.99 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $512.93.

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.