Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Rating) by 9.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,978 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 3,063 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.6% of Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,551,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the first quarter worth about $308,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 62,339 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $19,220,000 after purchasing an additional 5,503 shares during the period. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its holdings in Microsoft by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 17,726 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,465,000 after purchasing an additional 3,099 shares during the last quarter. Gabalex Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Gabalex Capital Management LLC now owns 50,000 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $15,416,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Finally, Private Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 295,721 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $91,174,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.99% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MSFT. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $352.00 to $312.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 8th. Credit Suisse Group set a $400.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, July 26th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Microsoft from $370.00 to $330.00 and set an “inline” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 27th. Wedbush lowered their target price on Microsoft from $340.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $380.00 price target on Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $334.31.
Microsoft Stock Up 1.7 %
Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $291.91 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $241.51 and a 1 year high of $349.67. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $264.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $279.55.
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 posted $2.17 EPS. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current year.
Microsoft Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 8th. Investors 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%.
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.
Further Reading
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