Webster Bank N. A. Sells 161 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Webster Bank N. A. lowered its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 71,498 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 161 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 3.3% of Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $26,886,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 30.8% in the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 22,845 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $8,591,000 after acquiring an additional 5,374 shares in the last quarter. Denver Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Denver Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,543 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $580,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Colonial River Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. Colonial River Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,891 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,728,000 after purchasing an additional 5,473 shares during the period. TTP Investments Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 118.2% in the 4th quarter. TTP Investments Inc. now owns 18,244 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,861,000 after purchasing an additional 9,881 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Founders Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Founders Capital Management LLC now owns 123,948 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,609,000 after buying an additional 355 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $460.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $490.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on Microsoft from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five 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 $434.05.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total transaction of $8,868,941.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,538,265.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total transaction of $8,868,941.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 159,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,538,265.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value of $1,341,414.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 570,826 shares in the company, valued at $231,823,855.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock valued at $30,690,456 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $407.57 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $414.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $386.93. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $275.37 and a twelve month high of $430.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The software giant reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $62.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.14 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.27% and a return on equity of 38.40%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.32 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.12%.

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.