Bank OZK Sells 1,772 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Bank OZK decreased its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 32,205 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,772 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 5.2% of Bank OZK’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Bank OZK’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $10,967,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sightline Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 0.9% during the second quarter. Sightline Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,337 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $962,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Stevens Capital Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% during the second quarter. Stevens Capital Partners now owns 1,516 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Eagle Bluffs Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,577 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,602,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the first quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 4,208 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,213,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% during the first quarter. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV now owns 7,166 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,074,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $320.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 24th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 17th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 25th. Loop Capital started coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, October 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $425.00 price target for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $410.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, October 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $384.34.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $352.80 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.62 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $328.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $326.42. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $213.43 and a 12 month high of $366.78.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 24th. The software giant reported $2.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $56.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.52 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.31% and a return on equity of 38.79%. The business’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.35 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.11 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 16th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 15th. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 29.04%.

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.