Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Holdings Boosted by Wesbanco Bank Inc.

Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 304,904 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 5,314 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 4.0% of Wesbanco Bank Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Wesbanco Bank Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $114,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,967 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,515,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. lifted its stake in Microsoft by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. now owns 315,594 shares of the software giant's stock worth $133,023,000 after purchasing an additional 18,052 shares in the last quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,140 shares of the software giant's stock worth $4,274,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. now owns 17,426 shares of the software giant's stock worth $7,345,000 after acquiring an additional 1,268 shares during the period. Finally, Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 147.9% during the 4th quarter. Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. now owns 1,748 shares of the software giant's stock worth $737,000 after buying an additional 1,043 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total transaction of $9,756,055.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at $61,208,127.76. This represents a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 43,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock traded down $2.03 during trading on Thursday, reaching $501.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 16,466,043 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,679,969. The company has a market capitalization of $3.73 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.04. The company's fifty day moving average is $467.76 and its 200-day moving average is $424.96. 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 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $506.78.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.94 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on MSFT. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $534.14.

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.