First City Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

First City Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.0% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 25,526 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 249 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 5.9% of First City Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. First City Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $10,739,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 1,290.0% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $58,000. Bellevue Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 47.5% during the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 188 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total transaction of $101,389.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,534,480.83. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $416.79 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.09, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $435.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $422.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.27. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $309.45 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.69 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on MSFT. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. New Street Research started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, June 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $570.00 price objective for the company. Macquarie upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $460.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $494.72.

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.