Associated Banc Corp Reduces Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Associated Banc Corp reduced its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 423,258 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 6,817 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 5.4% of Associated Banc Corp's portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Associated Banc Corp's holdings in Microsoft were worth $182,128,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First National Bank Sioux Falls raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the second quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 6,340 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,834,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. BCK Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.8% during the third quarter. BCK Partners Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $582,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management increased its position in Microsoft by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 9,640 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $4,309,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 3,255 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,455,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Conscious Wealth Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the second quarter. Conscious Wealth Investments LLC now owns 6,986 shares of the software giant's stock worth $3,108,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $415.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $432.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $424.81. The firm has a market cap of $3.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $385.58 and a one year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.38% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.89 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on MSFT. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, January 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $510.96.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the firm's 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.

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