Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Independence Bank of Kentucky’s 3rd Largest Position

Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 34.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,752 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 11,453 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 4.1% of Independence Bank of Kentucky’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $19,257,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% in the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth approximately $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth approximately $75,000. Bellevue Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 47.5% in the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 241.4% in the second quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC now owns 379 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $169,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $422.99 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market capitalization of $3.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.91. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $362.90 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $421.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $426.42.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.99 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total transaction of $15,600,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at $203,784,292.95. This represents a 7.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. This trade represents a 8.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 209,431 shares of company stock worth $85,796,688. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 28th. DA Davidson lowered Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $503.03.

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.