LaFleur & Godfrey LLC Has $37.33 Million Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

LaFleur & Godfrey LLC reduced its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 88,573 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,448 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 5.1% of LaFleur & Godfrey LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $37,333,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Avondale Wealth Management increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter worth approximately $62,000. Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $141,000. Finally, Elm Partners Management LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter worth approximately $203,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $438.73 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $389.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $411.54. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The company has a market capitalization of $3.26 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.94 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $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 0.76%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total value of $2,599,020.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 471,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. The trade was a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Bank of America lowered their target price on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Microsoft from $470.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $507.77.

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.