Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is First National Bank of Hutchinson’s 7th Largest Position

First National Bank of Hutchinson lifted its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 10.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,015 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,466 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 3.8% of First National Bank of Hutchinson’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. First National Bank of Hutchinson’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,329,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Avondale Wealth Management grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $141,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total value of $7,330,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 98,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,906,221.80. This trade represents a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 134,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. The trade was a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 131,743 shares of company stock valued at $58,375,673. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $450.18 on Tuesday. 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 fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The business has a fifty day moving average of $403.62 and a 200-day moving average of $414.03. The stock has a market cap of $3.35 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders 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 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America reduced their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $513.13.

Microsoft 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.