Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Rockland Trust Co.

Rockland Trust Co. decreased its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 221,701 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 17,860 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 4.7% of Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $95,398,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its holdings in Microsoft by 169.2% during the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $75,000. Bellevue Group AG lifted its stake in Microsoft by 47.5% during the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 241.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC now owns 379 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $169,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $415.76 on Tuesday. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $362.90 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The business’s fifty day moving average is $422.54 and its 200 day moving average is $426.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market cap of $3.09 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.30, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.91.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.99 EPS. Research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.94 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. This trade represents a 6.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total transaction of $1,027,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,552,000. This trade represents a 4.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 197,829 shares of company stock worth $80,966,837 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup cut their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. DA Davidson cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $503.03.

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.