BankPlus Trust Department Buys New Shares in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 32,885 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $13,861,000. Microsoft accounts for approximately 4.5% of BankPlus Trust Department's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,866,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant's stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Sequent Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 1.3% in the third quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the software giant's stock worth $853,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.8% in the third quarter. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,380,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverstone Advisors LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Riverstone Advisors LLC now owns 4,510 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,941,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT stock traded up $30.14 during trading on Thursday, reaching $425.40. The stock had a trading volume of 58,840,495 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,314,175. The firm has a market cap of $3.16 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.25, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock's 50 day moving average is $383.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $410.91. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.94 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research reports. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group lowered their target price on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $507.77.

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.