Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s 2nd Largest Position

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. cut its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 352,478 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 22,182 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 5.1% of Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $148,570,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Avondale Wealth Management grew its position in Microsoft by 144.4% in the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Scotiabank began coverage on Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 20th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 price target for the company. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 20th. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $425.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.59.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $378.80 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.82 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $376.91 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $405.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $418.97.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the business posted $2.93 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.73%.

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.