Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by First Community Trust NA

First Community Trust NA lessened its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,767 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 408 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 6.8% of First Community Trust NA’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. First Community Trust NA’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,796,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $521.14.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at $204,038,664.12. This represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of MSFT opened at $497.45 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $498.04. The firm has a market cap of $3.70 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $446.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $421.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.37.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.