18,813 Shares in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Acquired by Ames National Corp

Ames National Corp purchased a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 18,813 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $7,930,000. Microsoft comprises about 5.0% of Ames National Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 27.0% in the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant's stock worth $5,658,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 410.4% during the 3rd quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,144,000 after buying an additional 2,138 shares during the period. Collective Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Collective Family Office LLC now owns 7,332 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $3,090,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. raised its holdings in Microsoft by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 117,366 shares of the software giant's stock worth $49,470,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total transaction of $1,389,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,930 shares in the company, valued at $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.2%

Microsoft stock opened at $478.04 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.03. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $480.69. 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 firm's fifty day simple moving average is $432.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $419.32.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $2.94 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's payout ratio is 25.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MSFT. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho upped their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank upped their target price on Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $515.68.

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.

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