Firestone Capital Management decreased its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Rating) by 2.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,886 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 167 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 0.7% of Firestone Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Firestone Capital Management’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,123,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Shore Point Advisors LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Tobam increased its stake 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 buying an additional 154 shares during the period. Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Castle Financial & Retirement Planning Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $80,000. Finally, Evolution Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $84,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.99% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft Stock Performance
Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $291.91 on Monday. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $241.51 and a 52 week high of $349.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $264.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $279.55. The company has a market cap of $2.18 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 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 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 company earned $2.17 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.73%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research firms have recently issued reports on MSFT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $350.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $320.00 target price on Microsoft in a report on Thursday, June 9th. Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $320.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 29th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Microsoft from $350.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 19th. Finally, Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $330.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $334.31.
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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