Princeton Global Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Rating) by 3.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 60,352 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 2,394 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 5.2% of Princeton Global Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $18,607,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Shore Point Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Tobam lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 15,400.0% in the first quarter. Tobam now owns 155 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the first quarter worth approximately $68,000. Castle Financial & Retirement Planning Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $80,000. Finally, Evolution Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $84,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.29% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $330.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 22nd. Itau BBA Securities assumed coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, July 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $287.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $372.00 to $354.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 12th. Itaú Unibanco initiated coverage on Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, July 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $287.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $334.31.
Microsoft Price Performance
MSFT stock opened at $261.47 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $270.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $277.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.95 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.93. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $241.51 and a 1 year high of $349.67.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 26th. The software giant reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.29 by ($0.06). Microsoft had a net margin of 36.69% and a return on equity of 43.31%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.17 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 17th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 25.73%.
Microsoft Profile
Microsoft Corporation develops, licenses, and supports software, services, devices, and solutions worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Productivity and Business Processes, Intelligent Cloud, and More Personal Computing. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers Office, Exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, Office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft Viva, and Skype for Business; 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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