DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co Purchases 3,971 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co grew its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 18.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,937 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 3,971 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.7% of DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,377,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,887 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,359,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 4.1% during the third quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 82,267 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $25,976,000 after purchasing an additional 3,209 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. increased its position in Microsoft by 1.2% in the third quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 470,301 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $148,497,000 after buying an additional 5,366 shares during the last quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 69,053 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $25,967,000 after buying an additional 6,484 shares during the period. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 17,471 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,516,000 after acquiring an additional 1,245 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $407.57 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $414.60 and its 200 day moving average is $386.93. The company has a market cap of $3.03 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.20. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $275.37 and a 1 year high of $430.82.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The software giant reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.17. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.40% and a net margin of 36.27%. The firm had revenue of $62.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 27.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MSFT. StockNews.com lowered shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, March 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $460.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Microsoft from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $434.05.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total value of $18,530,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 574,129 shares in the company, valued at $236,414,839.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value of $1,341,414.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 570,826 shares in the company, valued at $231,823,855.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total value of $18,530,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 574,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,414,839.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock worth $30,690,456 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft 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.