Hanson & Doremus Investment Management Purchases 3,726 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Hanson & Doremus Investment Management boosted its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 9.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 43,754 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 3,726 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 2.9% of Hanson & Doremus Investment Management’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $18,442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. IFS Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing 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 about $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.59.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.1 %

Microsoft stock opened at $391.26 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $408.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $419.65. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $376.91 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.91 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $2.93 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a 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.