Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Purchased by Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 275,785 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,713 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 3.6% of Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $116,243,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth 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 Microsoft during the third quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $141,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $359.84 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $2.68 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s 50 day moving average is $399.08 and its 200-day moving average is $417.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $359.48 and a 1-year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 26.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Westpark Capital assumed coverage on Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 20th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 target price on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $508.86.

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.