Willis Investment Counsel Buys 2,983 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Willis Investment Counsel increased its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 110,288 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 2,983 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 3.0% of Willis Investment Counsel's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Willis Investment Counsel's holdings in Microsoft were worth $46,486,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Avondale Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% during the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded down $7.63 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $371.17. 12,866,771 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,496,477. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $367.31 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company has a market capitalization of $2.76 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $405.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $419.10.

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Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.93 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $509.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $508.86.

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.