Essex LLC increased its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Rating) by 194.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,230 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 9,396 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.2% of Essex LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Essex LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $4,387,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Shore Point Advisors LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Castle Financial & Retirement Planning Associates Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $80,000. Evolution Advisers Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $84,000. Saban Cheryl lifted its position in Microsoft by 1,041.7% in the 4th quarter. Saban Cheryl now owns 274 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aquire Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $93,000. 69.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $349.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 27th. Wolfe Research dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $320.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $320.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, June 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $372.00 to $354.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 12th. One investment 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, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $335.72.
Microsoft Stock Up 2.4 %
MSFT opened at $289.16 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $263.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $279.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.16 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.75. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $241.51 and a one year high of $349.67.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 26th. The software giant reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the business earned $2.17 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 18th will be given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 17th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.73%.
Microsoft Company 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.
Read More
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Rating).
Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily – Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts’ ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com’s FREE daily email newsletter.
