Heartland Bank & Trust Co Has $9.80 Million Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Heartland Bank & Trust Co decreased its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 23,246 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 498 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 5.3% of Heartland Bank & Trust Co’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Heartland Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,798,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 35.7% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Avondale Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Loop Capital upped their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $509.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.43.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $388.70 on Tuesday. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $376.91 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $411.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $420.49. The company has a market cap of $2.89 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.30, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 prior year, the firm posted $2.93 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.73%.

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.