DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co Grows Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co grew its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 18.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 24,937 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,971 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.7% of DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,377,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,103 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,453,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Stewardship Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter valued at about $216,000. Constant Guidance Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter worth about $633,000. CWM LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 701,305 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $221,437,000 after purchasing an additional 48,944 shares during the period. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,004,612 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $317,206,000 after purchasing an additional 68,848 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.6 %

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

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.12%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total transaction of $18,530,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now 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 the SEC website. In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total transaction of $1,341,414.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 570,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $231,823,855.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total transaction of $18,530,100.00. Following the sale, 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 sold a total of 1,070,258 shares of company stock worth $30,690,456 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $455.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, March 15th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Microsoft from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Citigroup cut their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Macquarie increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $430.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $434.05.

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.