Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC cut its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Rating) by 1.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 555,474 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 5,873 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 2.7% of Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $171,258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 5.7% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 134,115 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,237,000 after acquiring an additional 7,210 shares in the last quarter. Arbor Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 12.6% during the first quarter. Arbor Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,142 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,743,000 after purchasing an additional 1,357 shares during the period. KRS Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 4.8% during the first quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,781 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,474,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Dfpg Investments LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 22.9% during the first quarter. Dfpg Investments LLC now owns 27,038 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $7,585,000 after purchasing an additional 5,030 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in Microsoft by 41.4% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 147,385 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $45,441,000 after purchasing an additional 43,189 shares during the period. 69.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $372.00 to $354.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 12th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $350.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 19th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 27th. Credit Suisse Group set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, July 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $365.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, April 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $335.72.
Microsoft Stock Performance
NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $287.02 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.14 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $263.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $279.64. 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 fifty-two week low of $241.51 and a fifty-two week high of $349.67.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 26th. The software giant reported $2.23 earnings per share 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 posted $2.17 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current year.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 17th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.
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