CIBC Asset Management Inc Has $921.05 Million Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,185,698 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 86,781 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 3.0% of CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $921,048,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management increased its holdings in Microsoft by 144.4% during 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 during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on MSFT. DA Davidson raised shares of Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $425.00 to $450.00 in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Wedbush cut their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $475.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $499.97.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $367.78 on Monday. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The company has a fifty day moving average of $388.25 and a 200-day moving average of $412.70. The company has a market capitalization of $2.73 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 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.