Cathy Pareto & Associates Inc. Takes Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Cathy Pareto & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,515 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $1,482,000. Microsoft comprises 1.4% of Cathy Pareto & Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Net Worth Advisory Group acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter worth about $2,645,000. Oak Ridge Investments LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 263,534 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $113,399,000 after acquiring an additional 18,544 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 96,021 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $41,318,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% in the third quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 76,296 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $32,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,489 shares during the period. Finally, Campbell Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,314,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital increased their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $510.43.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.0 %

MSFT opened at $388.70 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $411.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $420.49. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $376.91 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The firm has a market cap of $2.89 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.30, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.73%.

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.