Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Bought by VeraBank N.A.

VeraBank N.A. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 36.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 36,846 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 9,818 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 3.7% of VeraBank N.A.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. VeraBank N.A.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $18,328,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fund Evaluation Group LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter worth $951,000. Pembroke Management LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth about $537,000. Davidson Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Davidson Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,818 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,889,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the period. STF Management LP increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. STF Management LP now owns 44,909 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $22,338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PCG Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. PCG Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,960 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,965,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total transaction of $6,266,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 129,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,577,620.48. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total value of $1,364,352.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 55,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,703,959.04. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 54,100 shares of company stock worth $27,598,872. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $650.00 to $625.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $630.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, November 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $600.00 target price for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $632.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $634.33.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $483.16 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.59 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.36, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.07. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $507.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $500.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $77.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.49 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.71% and a return on equity of 32.45%. Microsoft’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 25.89%.

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.