Norway Savings Bank Increases Stock Holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Norway Savings Bank increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 6.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,030 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,080 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 3.8% of Norway Savings Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Norway Savings Bank’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,768,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Newton One Investments LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 66.7% during the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through 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 transaction of $7,330,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 98,010 shares in the company, valued at $44,906,221.80. This represents a 14.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $512.50 on Tuesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $518.29. The company has a market capitalization of $3.81 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $484.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $432.22.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $530.00 price objective (up previously from $482.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $555.86.

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.