Hills Bank & Trust Co Sells 1,204 Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Hills Bank & Trust Co decreased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,269 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,204 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.0% of Hills Bank & Trust Co's portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Hills Bank & Trust Co's holdings in Microsoft were worth $28,631,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Newton One Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% in the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% in the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $62,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT traded up $7.47 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $529.24. The stock had a trading volume of 18,664,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,189,628. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $499.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $439.35. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.93 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.06. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.95 EPS. On average, 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 $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on MSFT. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Microsoft from $580.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays increased their price objective on Microsoft from $550.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Loop Capital increased their price objective on Microsoft from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Microsoft from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report 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 a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $609.86.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at $61,208,127.76. The trade was a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $1,389,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 43,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,339,590. This represents a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 54,743 shares of company stock valued at $24,921,913. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

About Microsoft

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.