Central Bank & Trust Co. Has $14.98 Million Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Central Bank & Trust Co. decreased its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,534 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 2,414 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.3% of Central Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Central Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $14,978,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $45,000. Avondale Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter worth $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 49,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,080,578.32. This trade represents a 4.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on MSFT. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Loop Capital raised their price objective 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.96.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $396.89 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.95 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $381.00 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $417.14 and a 200-day moving average of $422.06. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the business posted $2.93 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.