Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stake Decreased by Grove Bank & Trust

Posted by Defense World Staff on Nov 5th, 2023

Grove Bank & Trust cut its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 2.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,481 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 783 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 1.9% of Grove Bank & Trust’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Grove Bank & Trust’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,358,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Monumental Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Syverson Strege & Co raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 157.0% in the 1st quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 203 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. MayTech Global Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $83,000. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 57.5% in the 3rd quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 411 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Alapocas Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $97,000. 69.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.43, for a total transaction of $12,557,192.62. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 800,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $262,963,391.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.43, for a total transaction of $12,557,192.62. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 800,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,963,391.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.37, for a total transaction of $8,778,426.55. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 198,373 shares in the company, valued at $64,941,369.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $352.80 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.62 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.15, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.88. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $213.43 and a 52 week high of $366.78. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $328.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $326.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 24th. The software giant reported $2.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.34. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.31% and a return on equity of 38.79%. The company had revenue of $56.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.52 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.35 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $390.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, October 25th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, October 25th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $330.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $320.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 20th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $384.34.

View Our Latest Analysis on Microsoft

Microsoft Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.