Washington Trust Bank Cuts Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Washington Trust Bank lessened its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 109,418 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 3,109 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 4.5% of Washington Trust Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $47,083,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Castle Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 32.4% during the third quarter. Castle Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,230 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,402,000 after buying an additional 2,503 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,651,058 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,734,651,000 after acquiring an additional 501,954 shares during the period. Montecito Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 51,237 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $22,047,000 after buying an additional 4,894 shares during the period. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 80,525 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $34,650,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the period. Finally, BNC Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 2.4% during the third quarter. BNC Wealth Management LLC now owns 35,878 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $15,438,000 after acquiring an additional 838 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT opened at $424.56 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $428.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $427.59. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $371.19 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.16 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.03, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

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

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. The trade was a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction of $414,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at $23,850,961.92. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $511.62.

About Microsoft

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.