Advisory Alpha LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Rating) by 7.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,764 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Advisory Alpha LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,552,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Shore Point Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Tobam increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 15,400.0% during the 1st quarter. Tobam now owns 155 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 1st quarter valued at $68,000. Castle Financial & Retirement Planning Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $80,000. Finally, Evolution Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $84,000. 69.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Microsoft Stock Up 1.7 %
Microsoft stock opened at $291.91 on Monday. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $241.51 and a 1-year high of $349.67. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $264.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $279.55. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.18 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.28, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.93.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 43.31% and a net margin of 36.69%. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.17 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 10.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Announces Dividend
The business 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 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 yield of 0.85%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.73%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $363.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 10th. Redburn Partners assumed coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, June 29th. They set a “buy” rating and a $370.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp reduced their price target on Microsoft from $373.00 to $330.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 7th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, April 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Microsoft from $372.00 to $354.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.
Further Reading
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