Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Piscataqua Savings Bank’s Largest Position

Piscataqua Savings Bank lessened its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 13.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,679 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 3,571 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 8.3% of Piscataqua Savings Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Piscataqua Savings Bank’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,904,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. DGS Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 19.9% in the 1st quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 14,342 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,422,000 after acquiring an additional 2,383 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its position in Microsoft by 20.8% during the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 1,138,469 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $351,001,000 after purchasing an additional 196,338 shares during the period. Altus Wealth Group LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Altus Wealth Group LLC now owns 12,712 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,919,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Powell Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 16.2% during the 1st quarter. Powell Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,578 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $795,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the period. Finally, Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,782 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,921,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the business’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 directly owns 570,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $231,823,855.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 570,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on MSFT. BNP Paribas raised Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $471.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. StockNews.com downgraded Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Barclays raised their target price on Microsoft from $421.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Citigroup dropped their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Macquarie raised their target price on Microsoft from $430.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $432.13.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.3 %

MSFT stock opened at $399.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.22. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $414.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $384.83. The firm has a market cap of $2.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.09, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.89. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $275.37 and a one year high of $430.82.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The software giant reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.17. The firm 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.32 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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