Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA’s Largest Position

Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 9.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,746 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 233 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 5.5% of Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,157,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its stake in Microsoft by 35.7% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter worth approximately $45,000. Avondale Wealth Management grew its stake in Microsoft by 144.4% during the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the third quarter worth approximately $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on MSFT. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $520.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $510.96.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $397.12 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $420.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $422.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.95 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.97, 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 1-year low of $385.58 and a 1-year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 quarter last year, the company earned $2.93 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total transaction of $1,118,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 49,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,080,578.32. This represents a 4.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 7,000 shares of company stock worth $3,070,340. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.