New England Research & Management Inc. Has $5.33 Million Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

New England Research & Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,637 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 593 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 2.7% of New England Research & Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. New England Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,326,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its holdings 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 valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Avondale Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% during the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $141,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $391.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The company has a market capitalization of $2.91 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.50, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $408.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $419.67. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $376.91 and a one year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the business earned $2.93 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on MSFT. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $520.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, January 27th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. Three research 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 a consensus target price 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.