Heartland Bank & Trust Co Has $10.87 Million Stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Key Points

• Heartland Bank & Trust Co increased its Microsoft holdings by 24.6% in Q1, acquiring an additional 5,711 shares, making Microsoft its third-largest holding.
• Microsoft reported $3.46 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' forecasts by $0.24, with revenue reaching $70.07 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.83, translating to an annualized yield of 0.65%, with a payout ratio of 25.66%.

Heartland Bank & Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 24.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,957 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 5,711 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 5.6% of Heartland Bank & Trust Co's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Heartland Bank & Trust Co's holdings in Microsoft were worth $10,870,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Fosun International Ltd boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.3% in the first quarter. Fosun International Ltd now owns 6,633 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,490,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant's stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel raised its position in Microsoft by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Kuhn & Co Investment Counsel now owns 3,286 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,385,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Management Group boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group now owns 5,617 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,368,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guidance Point Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Guidance Point Advisors LLC now owns 4,294 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,811,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT traded down $9.39 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $524.11. 28,948,527 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 22,441,598. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.04. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $488.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $434.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.49% and a net margin of 36.15%. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.95 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid 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 0.6%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 24.34%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at $61,208,127.76. This trade represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total transaction of $7,330,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 98,010 shares in the company, valued at $44,906,221.80. This represents a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 60,743 shares of company stock valued at $27,520,933. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $605.00 to $613.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Loop Capital boosted their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $550.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $609.86.

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.