Private Trust Co. NA Lowers Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Private Trust Co. NA decreased its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 75,258 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,211 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 2.9% of Private Trust Co. NA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $28,251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.4% in the first quarter. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 6,650 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,496,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. increased its holdings in Microsoft by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. now owns 315,594 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $133,023,000 after acquiring an additional 18,052 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Microsoft by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. now owns 17,426 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $7,345,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268 shares in the last quarter. Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 147.9% during the 4th quarter. Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. now owns 1,748 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $737,000 after purchasing an additional 1,043 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intellus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $16,075,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total value of $2,557,502.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. The trade was a 11.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,350 shares of company stock worth $14,162,567. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.4%

Microsoft stock opened at $520.17 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market cap of $3.87 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a fifty day moving average of $502.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $441.19. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $555.45.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. KeyCorp upgraded Microsoft from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $630.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays upped their price objective on Microsoft from $550.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $609.86.

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.