Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Acquired by Nixon Peabody Trust Co.

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. lifted its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 159,998 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 1,653 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 5.6% of Nixon Peabody Trust Co.'s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $67,439,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,967 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,515,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. raised its holdings in Microsoft by 6.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Centric Wealth Management lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Centric Wealth Management now owns 16,156 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $6,789,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. 1900 Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,140 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $4,274,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.4% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,250,128 shares of the software giant's stock worth $3,980,299,000 after buying an additional 217,509 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $433.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 23,291,874 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,372,691. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company's 50-day moving average is $386.48 and its 200-day moving average is $411.27. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.22 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.94 earnings per share. Microsoft's revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on MSFT. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho raised their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $507.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total value of $2,599,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 471,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at $204,038,664.12. The trade was a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.