Busey Trust CO boosted its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 309,125 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 4,104 shares during the period. Microsoft Corporation makes up about 2.5% of Busey Trust CO’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Busey Trust CO’s holdings in Microsoft Corporation were worth $20,359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northstar Group Inc. raised its position in Microsoft Corporation by 0.3% in the first quarter. Northstar Group Inc. now owns 3,790 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Gierl Augustine Investment Management Inc raised its position in Microsoft Corporation by 0.3% in the first quarter. Gierl Augustine Investment Management Inc now owns 4,034 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft Corporation by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 9,411 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $620,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Kinetics LLC raised its stake in Microsoft Corporation by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Kinetics LLC now owns 18,380 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,142,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McQueen Ball & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft Corporation by 0.6% in the first quarter. McQueen Ball & Associates Inc. now owns 8,862 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $584,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 72.86% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) traded up 1.53% during trading on Friday, reaching $72.50. The company had a trading volume of 21,442,500 shares. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $55.61 and a 52-week high of $74.42. The stock has a market cap of $558.41 billion, a PE ratio of 26.75 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $71.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.88.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 20th. The software giant reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.27. Microsoft Corporation had a return on equity of 36.81% and a net margin of 23.57%. The company had revenue of $24.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.69 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post $3.22 earnings per share for the current year.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 15th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Microsoft Corporation’s dividend payout ratio is 57.78%.
MSFT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Microsoft Corporation in a research report on Thursday, July 13th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of Microsoft Corporation in a research report on Sunday, July 9th. Cowen and Company reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target (up previously from $78.00) on shares of Microsoft Corporation in a research report on Saturday, July 22nd. Pacific Crest reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $78.00 price target (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Microsoft Corporation in a research report on Friday, April 28th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft Corporation in a research report on Friday, April 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Microsoft Corporation currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $76.15.
In related news, EVP Christopher C. Capossela sold 4,927 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.75, for a total transaction of $338,731.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 214,080 shares in the company, valued at $14,718,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher C. Capossela sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.11, for a total value of $207,330.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 216,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,962,798.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,060,855 shares of company stock valued at $512,251,908. 2.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Microsoft Corporation Company Profile
Microsoft Corporation is a technology company. The Company develops, licenses, and supports a range of software products, services and devices. The Company’s segments include Productivity and Business Processes, Intelligent Cloud and More Personal Computing. The Company’s products include operating systems; cross-device productivity applications; server applications; business solution applications; desktop and server management tools; software development tools; video games, and training and certification of computer system integrators and developers.
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