Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Sold by Emprise Bank

Emprise Bank trimmed its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 11.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,090 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,909 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 3.0% of Emprise Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Emprise Bank's holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,665,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $486.00 on Tuesday. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $487.75. 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 stock's 50-day simple moving average is $439.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $420.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.61 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.03.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.94 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Westpark Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI set a $515.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $515.68.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,339,590. This trade represents a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total transaction of $32,703,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 476,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.

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