Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Decreased by Emprise Bank

Emprise Bank decreased its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 11.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,090 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,909 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 3.0% of Emprise Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Emprise Bank's holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,665,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ MSFT traded down $1.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $495.94. The stock had a trading volume of 33,955,963 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,627,079. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $446.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $421.75. The company has a market cap of $3.69 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.03. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $499.27. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 35.79%. Microsoft's revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.94 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total transaction of $1,389,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,930 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of Microsoft 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 476,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $207,995,413.95. The trade was a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $521.14.

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.