Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Purchased by Montecito Bank & Trust

Montecito Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 10.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 51,237 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 4,894 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 3.8% of Montecito Bank & Trust's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Montecito Bank & Trust's holdings in Microsoft were worth $22,047,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its position in Microsoft by 169.2% during the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth approximately $75,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant's stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $200,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $424.56 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $371.19 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market cap of $3.16 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $428.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $427.59.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.99 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.39%.

Microsoft announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on MSFT. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $511.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. This represents a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,911,598. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.