Trust Co. of Vermont Purchases 2,384 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Trust Co. of Vermont increased its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 208,676 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 2,384 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 5.1% of Trust Co. of Vermont's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Trust Co. of Vermont's holdings in Microsoft were worth $93,268,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 1,290.0% during the first quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Bellevue Group AG lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 47.5% in the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 188 shares of the software giant's stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total transaction of $101,389.32. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,534,480.83. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total value of $101,389.32. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,534,480.83. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total value of $6,009,869.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $328,473,703.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,964 shares of company stock worth $6,245,404. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded down $3.24 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $410.60. The company had a trading volume of 14,848,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,767,059. The company's fifty day moving average price is $433.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $422.83. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $309.45 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The stock has a market cap of $3.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.55, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.05. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.69 earnings per share. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho raised their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Argus upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. New Street Research initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, June 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $570.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $494.72.

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.