Grove Bank & Trust Has $8.15 Million Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,264 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 591 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.7% of Grove Bank & Trust’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Grove Bank & Trust’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,149,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.6% in the first quarter. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC now owns 11,951 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,445,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the period. Kalos Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $159,000. Quilter Plc increased its position in Microsoft by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 844,299 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $202,480,000 after purchasing an additional 11,563 shares during the period. Premier Fund Managers Ltd increased its position in Microsoft by 117.2% during the 1st quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 85,364 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $24,250,000 after purchasing an additional 46,056 shares during the period. Finally, SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd. increased its position in Microsoft by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. SeaTown Holdings Pte. Ltd. now owns 200,299 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $48,036,000 after purchasing an additional 6,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.37, for a total value of $8,778,426.55. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 198,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,941,369.01. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 38,234 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 800,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $262,963,391.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 26,815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.37, for a total value of $8,778,426.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 198,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,941,369.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 115,049 shares of company stock valued at $38,195,619. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $333.55 on Wednesday. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $213.43 and a 1 year high of $366.78. The firm has a market cap of $2.48 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $332.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $309.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.75.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The software giant reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.49 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.23 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 10.9 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 17th will be issued a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 16th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Redburn Partners decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 11th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $340.00 to $405.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Credit Suisse Group increased their price target on Microsoft from $350.00 to $420.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 31st. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on Microsoft from $310.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $345.00 to $400.00 in a report on Friday, July 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and thirty-three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $373.68.

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.