Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Decreased by First American Bank

Key Points

• First American Bank reduced its stake in Microsoft Corporation by 0.4%, now holding 199,165 shares worth approximately $74.77 million.
• Microsoft announced a quarterly dividend of $0.83, with an annual yield of 0.65%, set to be paid on September 11th.
• Analysts are optimistic about Microsoft, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $555.86.

First American Bank decreased its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 199,165 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 782 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 5.5% of First American Bank's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. First American Bank's holdings in Microsoft were worth $74,765,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $44,343,058,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 40,290.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 46,695,303 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $17,528,950,000 after acquiring an additional 46,579,693 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 34,643.3% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,837,278 shares of the software giant's stock worth $7,096,913,000 after acquiring an additional 16,788,816 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $35,316,535,000 after purchasing an additional 11,600,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 684,071,705 shares of the software giant's stock worth $288,336,224,000 after purchasing an additional 10,431,988 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Westpark Capital reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $609.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 98,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. The trade was a 14.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total value of $2,599,020.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 471,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. This represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 60,743 shares of company stock valued at $27,520,933. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT traded down $9.39 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $524.11. 28,948,527 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 22,441,598. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The stock has a market cap of $3.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.04. The firm's 50-day moving average is $488.46 and its 200-day moving average is $434.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.36.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.49% and a net margin of 36.15%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.95 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.34%.

Microsoft 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.