Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Position Lessened by First Financial Bank Trust Division

First Financial Bank Trust Division decreased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 63,576 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 2,255 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 2.8% of First Financial Bank Trust Division’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. First Financial Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $32,929,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vigilare Wealth Management lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vigilare Wealth Management now owns 9,014 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,669,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. BancFirst Trust & Investment Management raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 57.3% during the 3rd quarter. BancFirst Trust & Investment Management now owns 1,655 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $852,000 after buying an additional 603 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Wealthcare LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Beacon Wealthcare LLC now owns 1,431 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $741,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Hobart Private Capital LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 14.1% in the third quarter. Hobart Private Capital LLC now owns 9,648 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,997,000 after acquiring an additional 1,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rydar Equities Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $5,597,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of MSFT opened at $476.12 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.54 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.86, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.07. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $501.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $502.70.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $77.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.49 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.71% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on MSFT. Evercore ISI set a $640.00 price target on Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Wolfe Research cut their target price on Microsoft from $675.00 to $625.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, November 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $631.03.

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.