Berkshire Bank Has $15.89 Million Stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Berkshire Bank cut its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 42,326 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,267 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 3.9% of Berkshire Bank's portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Berkshire Bank's holdings in Microsoft were worth $15,889,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% during the 1st 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 period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on MSFT. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $581.00 target price (up from $512.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $530.00 price target (up from $482.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $550.14.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock traded up $1.27 on Friday, reaching $512.15. The stock had a trading volume of 1,989,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,133,133. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm's 50-day moving average is $482.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $430.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.81 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.04. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $514.64.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The business's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.94 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 471,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. This trade represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 43,100 shares in the company, valued at $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% 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 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.