Moody National Bank Trust Division Acquires 214 Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 84,096 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 3.3% of Moody National Bank Trust Division’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $31,569,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,866,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Group Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,540 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,335,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel now owns 3,286 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,385,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliance Wealth Management Group grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group now owns 5,617 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,368,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT opened at $490.11 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $441.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $420.91. The company has a market capitalization of $3.64 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.03. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $491.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.36.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.94 EPS. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,481,631. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Mizuho raised their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI set a $515.00 price target on Microsoft and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $515.68.

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.