Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Increased by Norway Savings Bank

Norway Savings Bank raised its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,950 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 327 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 4.0% of Norway Savings Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Norway Savings Bank’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,144,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth approximately $45,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 10.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth $200,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MSFT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Mizuho lowered 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. StockNews.com raised Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.96.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $408.43 on Monday. 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 1 year low of $385.58 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.04 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $428.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $422.92.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.93 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 49,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,080,578.32. The trade was a 4.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,000 shares of company stock valued at $14,333,540. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.