Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Rockland Trust Co.’s Largest Position

Rockland Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 225,147 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 3,446 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 4.8% of Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $94,899,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its holdings in Microsoft by 35.7% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Avondale Wealth Management grew its position in Microsoft by 144.4% during the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at about $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $408.25 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $385.58 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $425.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $423.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 49,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,080,578.32. This represents a 4.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 8,000 shares of company stock worth $3,493,820 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on MSFT. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, January 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.96.

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.