Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Canton Hathaway LLC’s 6th Largest Position

Canton Hathaway LLC cut its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,636 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 25 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.8% of Canton Hathaway LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Canton Hathaway LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,012,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Avondale Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% during the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. TD Securities lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wedbush raised their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Microsoft from $430.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $507.77.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT stock opened at $425.40 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.16 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $384.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $411.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.73%.

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.