Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. Reduces Holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. reduced its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 133,422 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 281 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 4.7% of Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $50,085,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Newton One Investments LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 66.7% during the 1st 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. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. TD Securities boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Mizuho upped their price objective on Microsoft from $540.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $609.86.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.5%

MSFT opened at $524.94 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $494.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $437.01. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $555.45. The company has a market capitalization of $3.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.95 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 98,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. This trade represents a 14.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 134,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. The trade was a 13.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,743 shares of company stock worth $24,921,913 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.