Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Purchased by Rockland Trust Co.

Rockland Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 229,957 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 4,810 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 4.3% of Rockland Trust Co.'s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Rockland Trust Co.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $86,324,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 684,071,705 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $288,336,224,000 after acquiring an additional 10,431,988 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 168,128,024 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $70,720,874,000 after acquiring an additional 3,103,212 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,343,058,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $35,316,535,000 after acquiring an additional 11,600,470 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 59,961,337 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $25,273,704,000 after acquiring an additional 5,370,546 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $503.02 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $506.78. The stock's 50 day moving average is $471.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $426.18. The company has a market capitalization of $3.74 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.04.

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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.94 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total transaction of $32,703,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 476,999 shares in the company, valued at $207,995,413.95. The trade was a 13.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $525.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Wedbush increased their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Microsoft from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $534.14.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.