Hills Bank & Trust Co Boosts Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Hills Bank & Trust Co boosted its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 77,473 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 2.5% of Hills Bank & Trust Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $32,655,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 34,643.3% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,837,278 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,096,913,000 after purchasing an additional 16,788,816 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 76.6% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 10,532,402 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,439,407,000 after buying an additional 4,568,539 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 165,024,812 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $70,790,682,000 after buying an additional 3,264,648 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 54,590,791 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $23,490,417,000 after acquiring an additional 2,125,030 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 43,900.4% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 2,042,499 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $860,913,000 after acquiring an additional 2,037,857 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Westpark Capital restated a “hold” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $512.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,100 shares in the company, valued at $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total transaction of $7,330,880.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 98,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,906,221.80. This represents a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 110,243 shares of company stock valued at $48,619,618 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $452.57 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $399.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $413.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.36 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.44, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.94 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.66%.

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.