Cibc World Market Inc. Buys 151,197 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Cibc World Market Inc. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 8.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,864,105 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 151,197 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 1.6% of Cibc World Market Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Cibc World Market Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $785,720,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. IFS Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 144.4% in the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. StockNews.com cut Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $510.59.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $391.26 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $408.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $419.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $376.91 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The firm has a market cap of $2.91 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company earned $2.93 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.