Alerus Financial NA Has $50.86 Million Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Alerus Financial NA decreased its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 118,188 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 3,804 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 3.7% of Alerus Financial NA’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Alerus Financial NA’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $50,856,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth $45,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth about $200,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total value of $414,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at $23,850,961.92. This represents a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $413.29 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.07 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $385.58 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $432.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $424.01.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.93 EPS. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MSFT. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. KeyCorp increased 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, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.