Hallmark Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Rating) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 108,676 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,585 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 2.8% of Hallmark Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Hallmark Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $33,506,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.9% in the first quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 11,731 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,617,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the period. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. increased its stake in Microsoft by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 157,738 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $48,632,000 after purchasing an additional 1,460 shares during the period. Congress Park Capital LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 9.8% in the first quarter. Congress Park Capital LLC now owns 26,879 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $8,287,000 after purchasing an additional 2,405 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 7.3% during the first quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 14,764 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,552,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the first quarter worth approximately $308,000. 69.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Microsoft Stock Up 1.7 %
NASDAQ MSFT opened at $291.91 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $264.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $279.55. The company has a market capitalization of $2.18 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $241.51 and a 52 week high of $349.67.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 26th. The software giant reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 previous year, the firm earned $2.17 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current year.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 18th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 17th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.73%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several brokerages have weighed in on MSFT. Credit Suisse Group set a $400.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, July 26th. UBS Group set a $330.00 price target on Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 20th. Wedbush dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $340.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $325.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Monday, June 13th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Microsoft from $363.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $334.31.
Microsoft Profile
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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