Cibc World Markets Corp Has $1.02 Billion Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Cibc World Markets Corp grew its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 25.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,421,485 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 494,639 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 6.0% of Cibc World Markets Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Cibc World Markets Corp's holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,020,656,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management lifted its holdings 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. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $430.00 to $494.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $472.00 to $482.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $513.13.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 471,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at $204,038,664.12. This trade represents a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,100 shares in the company, valued at $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 131,743 shares of company stock valued at $58,375,673. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.0%

MSFT opened at $450.18 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The company has a market capitalization of $3.35 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.25, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The stock's fifty day moving average is $402.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $413.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.94 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Microsoft Company 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.

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