Noesis Capital Mangement Corp Grows Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Noesis Capital Mangement Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 13.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,198 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 2,173 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.5% of Noesis Capital Mangement Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Noesis Capital Mangement Corp's holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,670,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management grew its position in Microsoft by 144.4% during the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $141,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $433.31 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.22 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. 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 Co. has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $468.35. The company's 50-day moving average is $386.48 and its 200 day moving average is $411.27.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.94 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total transaction of $32,703,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 476,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho boosted their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James raised their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.