Atria Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Rating) by 3.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 375,429 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,067 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 2.0% of Atria Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Atria Investments LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $115,749,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Microsoft by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 302,541,869 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $101,750,881,000 after buying an additional 8,108,943 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 129,107,118 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $43,313,705,000 after buying an additional 3,027,306 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $24,401,940,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 57,181,533 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $19,231,292,000 after buying an additional 584,273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 39,096,786 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $13,149,038,000 after buying an additional 652,526 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.99% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft Stock Performance
NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $287.02 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $263.64 and its 200-day moving average is $279.64. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $241.51 and a 52-week high of $349.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.78. The company has a market cap of $2.14 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.77, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.93.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 26th. The software giant reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.29 by ($0.06). Microsoft had a return on equity of 43.31% and a net margin of 36.69%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.17 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current year.
Microsoft Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 17th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.73%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $330.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $320.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, June 9th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $325.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Monday, June 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 25th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, July 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $335.72.
About Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation develops, licenses, and supports software, services, devices, and solutions worldwide. Its Productivity and Business Processes segment offers Office, Exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, Office 365 Security and Compliance, and Skype for Business, as well as related Client Access Licenses (CAL); Skype, Outlook.com, OneDrive, and LinkedIn; and Dynamics 365, a set of cloud-based and on-premises business solutions for organizations and enterprise divisions.
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