WCM Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Rating) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,303,809 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $402,812,000. Microsoft comprises 1.1% of WCM Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. KB Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. KB Financial Partners LLC now owns 7,148 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,404,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Valtinson Bruner Financial Planning LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Valtinson Bruner Financial Planning LLC now owns 4,238 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,186,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 5.9% in the first quarter. Strategic Asset Management LLC now owns 659 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $203,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.3% during the first quarter. Virginia Wealth Management Group Inc. now owns 12,676 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,830,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the first quarter. Northwest Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,536 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,399,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.29% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft Stock Down 0.6 %
Shares of MSFT stock opened at $261.47 on Thursday. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $241.51 and a 52-week high of $349.67. The stock has a market cap of $1.95 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.12, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $270.44 and its 200-day moving average is $277.26. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Rating) last released 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 period last year, the firm earned $2.17 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 10.14 EPS for the current year.
Microsoft Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 17th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.73%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
MSFT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Microsoft from $372.00 to $354.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 12th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Microsoft from $352.00 to $312.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Microsoft from $350.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 27th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $380.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 19th. Two equities research 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 has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $334.31.
Microsoft Company Profile
Microsoft Corporation develops, licenses, and supports software, services, devices, and solutions worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Productivity and Business Processes, Intelligent Cloud, and More Personal Computing. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers Office, Exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, Office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft Viva, and Skype for Business; 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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