Somerset Trust Co Purchases 565 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Somerset Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 32,707 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 5.2% of Somerset Trust Co’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Somerset Trust Co’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $13,786,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. IFS Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. Avondale Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% during the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at about $62,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $430.87, for a total transaction of $1,077,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 53,852 shares in the company, valued at $23,203,211.24. The trade was a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,000 shares of company stock worth $3,070,340. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.96.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $397.12 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $420.68 and a 200-day moving average of $422.62. The company has a market capitalization of $2.95 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.97, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $385.58 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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 $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 26.73%.

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.