Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.’s Largest Position

Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. decreased its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 12.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,085,394 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 299,153 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 10.3% of Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $852,496,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nvest Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 11,836 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,989,000 after buying an additional 1,059 shares during the period. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 57,517 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $24,677,000 after acquiring an additional 2,724 shares in the last quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC now owns 140,962 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $59,415,000 after acquiring an additional 645 shares in the last quarter. Verus Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $1,248,000. Finally, Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 161,701 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $68,157,000 after acquiring an additional 6,426 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $391.26 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $376.91 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.91 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $408.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $419.65. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.93 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho cut their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital boosted their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.59.

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.