United Bank Purchases 730 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

United Bank increased its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,378 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 730 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 0.9% of United Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. United Bank’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,908,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth $45,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. MayTech Global Investments LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $200,000. Finally, Grunden Financial Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $203,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT opened at $412.22 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company has a market capitalization of $3.06 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $431.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $423.41. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $385.58 and a 1 year high of $468.35.

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, beating 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.07 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,911,598. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction of $414,720.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. The trade was a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,000 shares of company stock worth $14,333,540. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Mizuho reduced their target price on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $520.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, January 27th. 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.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.96.

About Microsoft

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.