Norway Savings Bank Purchases 1,080 Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Norway Savings Bank raised its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 6.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,030 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 1,080 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 3.8% of Norway Savings Bank's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Norway Savings Bank's holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,768,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. GAM Holding AG raised its holdings in Microsoft by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 195,364 shares of the software giant's stock worth $73,338,000 after acquiring an additional 10,717 shares during the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 1.6% during the first quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 439,449 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $164,965,000 after purchasing an additional 7,107 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC NY lifted its position in Microsoft by 18.0% during the first quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC NY now owns 1,499 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA increased its stake in Microsoft by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA now owns 122,316 shares of the software giant's stock worth $45,916,000 after buying an additional 2,702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mayport LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Mayport LLC now owns 9,445 shares of the software giant's stock worth $3,546,000 after buying an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 43,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,339,590. This represents a 6.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total value of $7,330,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 98,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. This trade represents a 14.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 60,743 shares of company stock worth $27,520,933 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.8%

NASDAQ:MSFT traded down $9.47 on Friday, hitting $524.03. 13,043,612 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 22,325,803. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.04. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $555.45. The company's 50-day moving average price is $488.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $434.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.37.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 24.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $580.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. TD Securities lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $605.00 to $613.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $609.86.

About Microsoft

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.