Berbice Capital Management LLC Invests $10.18 Million in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 24,150 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $10,179,000. Microsoft makes up 8.2% of Berbice Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth $45,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management lifted its stake in Microsoft by 144.4% during the fourth 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 period. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $378.77 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $413.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $420.77. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $376.91 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.82 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 previous year, the business posted $2.93 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $425.00 to $450.00 in a report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.43.

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.