Heartland Bank & Trust Co lowered its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 6.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,357 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,481 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 6.0% of Heartland Bank & Trust Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Heartland Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,613,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Sightline Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% in the second quarter. Sightline Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,337 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $962,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,577 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,602,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.8% during the first quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 4,208 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,213,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.5% during the first quarter. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV now owns 7,166 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,074,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Affiance Financial LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.3% during the first quarter. Affiance Financial LLC now owns 10,362 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,988,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Fundamental Research set a $298.10 price objective on Microsoft and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Microsoft from $385.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Barclays raised their price target on Microsoft from $336.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. StockNews.com started coverage on Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Microsoft from $411.00 to $433.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $376.34.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.20, for a total value of $16,860,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 588,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $198,301,924.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.20, for a total value of $16,860,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 588,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $198,301,924.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.43, for a total value of $12,557,192.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 800,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,963,391.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 115,049 shares of company stock worth $38,195,619. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft Stock Down 0.4 %
Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $331.16 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $213.43 and a 1 year high of $366.78. The company has a market cap of $2.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $324.90 and its 200 day moving average is $320.90.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The software giant reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.14. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.70% and a net margin of 34.15%. The firm had revenue of $56.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.23 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 10.9 EPS for the current year.
Microsoft Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 15th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 28.07%.
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.
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