Heartland Bank & Trust Co Sells 1,869 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Heartland Bank & Trust Co trimmed its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 8.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,667 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,869 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 5.3% of Heartland Bank & Trust Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Heartland Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,772,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,887 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,359,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% during the third quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 470,301 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $148,497,000 after buying an additional 5,366 shares during the last quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 69,053 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $25,967,000 after buying an additional 6,484 shares during the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 7.7% during the third quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 17,471 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,516,000 after buying an additional 1,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bensler LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 3.2% during the third quarter. Bensler LLC now owns 86,932 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $27,449,000 after buying an additional 2,674 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,538,265.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,538,265.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total transaction of $1,950,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,677,398 shares in the company, valued at $22,770,926.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock worth $30,690,456. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $490.00 price target for the company. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $434.05.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $409.06 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $414.59 and a 200-day moving average of $387.09. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.89. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $275.37 and a 52-week high of $430.82.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The software giant reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.17. The company 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%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.32 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.12%.

Microsoft Company 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.