Independence Bank of Kentucky Boosts Stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 5.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,431 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 3,862 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 4.2% of Independence Bank of Kentucky's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Independence Bank of Kentucky's holdings in Microsoft were worth $26,814,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% during the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of several research reports. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Westpark Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $524.71.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of MSFT stock traded down $1.10 on Tuesday, reaching $496.62. 11,836,319 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,679,755. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $500.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $3.69 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.04. The business's 50 day moving average price is $463.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $423.91.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.94 earnings per share. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.66%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 134,888 shares in the company, valued at $61,208,127.76. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total value of $7,330,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 98,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. This trade represents a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.