Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Thomasville National Bank’s Largest Position

Thomasville National Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 179,160 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 2,823 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 6.0% of Thomasville National Bank’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Thomasville National Bank’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $67,371,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Monumental Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 534.5% in the 2nd quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 184 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $69,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 89.0% in the 3rd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $83,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total transaction of $1,341,414.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 570,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $231,823,855.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Microsoft news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total value of $1,950,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,770,926.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total transaction of $1,341,414.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 570,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $231,823,855.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,070,258 shares of company stock valued at $30,690,456 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT opened at $421.43 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $409.64 and a 200-day moving average of $373.65. The company has a market capitalization of $3.13 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.10, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.89. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $272.05 and a 1-year high of $430.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.22.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The software giant reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $62.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.14 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.27% and a return on equity of 38.40%. The company’s revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.32 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $435.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $420.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. BNP Paribas raised shares of Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $471.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $423.34.

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.