Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Stonebridge Capital Management Inc.’s 2nd Largest Position

Stonebridge Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 52,419 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 75 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 9.0% of Stonebridge Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Stonebridge Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $22,095,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Avondale Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 144.4% in the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $141,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $399.73 on Thursday. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $385.58 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The firm has a market cap of $2.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $422.36 and a 200-day moving average of $423.01.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $520.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.96.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.32, for a total transaction of $874,640.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 51,852 shares in the company, valued at $22,675,916.64. The trade was a 3.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,000 shares of company stock worth $3,070,340. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.