Webster Bank N. A. lowered its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Rating) by 1.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 77,695 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 940 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.7% of Webster Bank N. A.'s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Webster Bank N. A.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $19,954,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSFT. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1,316.7% in the 1st quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 85 shares of the software giant's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Monumental Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Tobam grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 15,400.0% in the 1st quarter. Tobam now owns 155 shares of the software giant's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 1st quarter worth approximately $68,000. Finally, Castle Financial & Retirement Planning Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $80,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on MSFT. Barclays lowered their target price on Microsoft from $363.00 to $335.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 10th. Cowen lowered their target price on Microsoft from $330.00 to $320.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $320.00 target price on Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, September 6th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Microsoft from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 27th. Finally, UBS Group set a $330.00 target price on Microsoft in a report on Thursday, September 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $332.77.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.3 %

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 26th. The software giant reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.28 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $51.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $52.31 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 43.31% and a net margin of 36.69%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.17 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 10.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 17th will be issued a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 16th. This is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, CMO Christopher C. Capossela sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $266.25, for a total value of $1,331,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 109,837 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,244,101.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.05% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Company Profile

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Microsoft Corporation develops, licenses, and supports software, services, devices, and solutions worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Productivity and Business Processes, Intelligent Cloud, and More Personal Computing. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers Office, Exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, Office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft Viva, and Skype for Business; Skype, Outlook.com, OneDrive, and LinkedIn; and Dynamics 365, a set of cloud-based and on-premises business solutions for organizations and enterprise divisions.

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