Riverwater Partners LLC cut its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Rating) by 77.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,005 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 3,370 shares during the period. Riverwater Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $310,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Occidental Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 26,608 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $8,949,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the period. Nikulski Financial Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Nikulski Financial Inc. now owns 13,151 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,423,000 after acquiring an additional 739 shares in the last quarter. TAGStone Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $283,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 56.8% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 6,285,638 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,113,986,000 after purchasing an additional 2,277,803 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 59,277 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $19,936,000 after purchasing an additional 2,828 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.99% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft Stock Up 1.7 %
Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $291.91 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $2.18 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.93. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $264.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $279.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.78. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $241.51 and a 52-week high of $349.67.
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 net margin of 36.69% and a return on equity of 43.31%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.17 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 8th. Stockholders 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 0.85%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 25.73%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 27th. Barclays reduced their target price on Microsoft from $363.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 10th. Guggenheim started coverage on Microsoft in a report on Friday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $292.00 price target for the company. Itaú Unibanco initiated coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, July 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $287.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Microsoft from $305.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average 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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