SFE Investment Counsel Grows Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

SFE Investment Counsel lifted its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,559 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 895 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 1.9% of SFE Investment Counsel's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. SFE Investment Counsel's holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,087,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,967 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,515,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 7.6% in the third quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 263,534 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $113,399,000 after purchasing an additional 18,544 shares in the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 76,296 shares of the software giant's stock worth $32,830,000 after acquiring an additional 1,489 shares during the last quarter. Campbell Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth $3,314,000. Finally, Romano Brothers AND Company raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% in the third quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company now owns 42,176 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $18,148,000 after purchasing an additional 962 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

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Microsoft Trading Down 3.7 %

NASDAQ MSFT traded down $14.12 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $371.61. 21,938,586 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,233,013. The firm has a market cap of $2.76 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.92, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $390.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $413.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.93 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. 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 26.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on MSFT. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Wedbush decreased their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $475.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $475.00 price target (down previously from $500.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Westpark Capital started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $499.97.

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.