Vest Financial LLC Grows Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 25.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,531 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 7,191 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $13,361,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Monumental Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 534.5% during the 2nd quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 184 shares of the software giant's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth about $69,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 89.0% during the 3rd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the software giant's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $83,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock traded down $0.71 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $420.72. 21,871,161 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,826,068. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.20. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $275.37 and a fifty-two week high of $430.82. The company has a market capitalization of $3.13 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.89. The firm's fifty day moving average is $410.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $374.31.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The software giant reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $62.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $61.14 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.27% and a return on equity of 38.40%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.32 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 27.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on MSFT. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. China Renaissance began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, December 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $466.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $465.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $420.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $423.34.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total transaction of $1,950,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,677,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,770,926.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total transaction of $18,530,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 574,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $236,414,839.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total transaction of $1,950,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,677,398 shares in the company, valued at $22,770,926.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock worth $30,690,456 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.