Bank of Stockton Has $7.55 Million Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Bank of Stockton reduced its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,539 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 509 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 2.3% of Bank of Stockton’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Bank of Stockton’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,547,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.6% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 9,886 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,254,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Hudock Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Hudock Inc. now owns 12,704 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,467,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Network Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.3% in the third quarter. Financial Management Network Inc. now owns 16,697 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,947,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the period. West Wealth Group LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 2.9% during the third quarter. West Wealth Group LLC now owns 7,086 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,049,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cullinan Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.7% in the third quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 196,184 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $81,872,000 after acquiring an additional 5,124 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $508.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at $43,792,039.56. This trade represents a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $436.60 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $366.50 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The business’s 50 day moving average is $427.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $428.42. The company has a market capitalization of $3.25 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.99 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

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

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.