Morton Community Bank Sells 131 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Morton Community Bank cut its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,579 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 131 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.6% of Morton Community Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Morton Community Bank’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First National Bank Sioux Falls boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the second quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 6,340 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,834,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. BCK Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. BCK Partners Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $582,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Massachusetts Wealth Management increased its holdings in Microsoft by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 9,640 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,309,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 3,255 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,455,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Conscious Wealth Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the second quarter. Conscious Wealth Investments LLC now owns 6,986 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,108,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.4 %

MSFT opened at $412.37 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $432.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $424.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $385.58 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The stock has a market cap of $3.07 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.20, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction of $414,720.00. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at $43,792,039.56. The trade was a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on MSFT. Citigroup reduced their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, January 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.96.

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.