Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC removed its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ: MSFT – Free report) by 2.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its latest 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor held 284,206 shares of the software giant after acquiring an additional 5,580 shares during the quarter. Microsoft represents about 3.3% of Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its second largest holding. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $81,937,000 at the end of the last quarter.
Other institutional investors have also recently changed their stake in the company. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its position in Microsoft shares by 19.9% during the 1st quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 14,342 shares of the software giant valued at $4,422,000 after buying 2,383 additional shares last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its stake in Microsoft by 20.8% in the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 1,138,469 shares of the software giant valued at $351,001,000 after buying an additional 196,338 shares last quarter. Altus Wealth Group LLC increased its position in Microsoft shares by 1.2% in the first quarter. Altus Wealth Group LLC now owns 12,712 shares of the software giant valued at $3,919,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Powell Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Microsoft shares by 16.2% in the first quarter. Powell Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,578 shares of the software giant worth $795,000 after buying 359 additional shares in the last quarter. Finally, Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC increased its position in Microsoft shares by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,782 shares of the software giant worth $1,921,000 after buying an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. 72.20% of the shares are currently held by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Microsoft Price Performance
Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $345.24 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $329.46 and its two-hundred-day moving average is $287.05. The company has a debt ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.88. The company has a market capitalization of $2.57 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.40, a growth price-to-earnings ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.92. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year minimum of $213.43 and a 1-year maximum of $351.47.
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT – Get a free report) last reported results on Tuesday, April 25. The software giant reported earnings per share of $2.45 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.23. Microsoft had a net margin of 33.25% and a return on equity of 38.98%. The company posted revenue of $52.86 billion for the quarter, versus $51.01 billion expected by analysts. In the same quarter last year, the company earned earnings per share of $2.22. The company’s revenue increased by 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect Microsoft Co. to post EPS of 9.66 for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft announces dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 14. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 17 will receive a dividend of $0.68. This represents a dividend of $2.72 on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 16. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.47%.
Insiders place their bets
In other news, CMO Christopher C. Capossela sold 5,000 shares in a trade dated Friday, May 5. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total value of $1,550,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 110,206 shares of the company, valued at approximately $34,169,370.30. The transaction was disclosed in an SEC filing, available at this hyperlink. In related news, the director List Teri sold 1,250 shares in a trade on Friday, June 2. The shares were sold at an average price of $334.77, for a total value of $418,462.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 874 shares of the company, valued at approximately $292,588.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, available at this link. Additionally, CMO Christopher C. Capossela sold 5,000 shares of the company in a trade on Friday, May 5. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total transaction of $1,550,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the marketing director now directly owns 110,206 shares of the company, valued at $34,169,370.30. Disclosure of this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 51,331 shares of the company valued at $15,867,278 in the past ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the shares of the company.
Changes to analyst ratings
Several research companies have commented on MSFT. Credit Suisse Group raised its price target on Microsoft from $350.00 to $420.00 in a Wednesday, May 31 research note. BNP Paribas downgraded Microsoft from an “outperforming” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced its price target for the company from $310.00 to $300.00 in a Monday, April 24 research note. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its price target on Microsoft stock from $315.00 to $350.00 in a Thursday, June 15 report. BMO Capital Markets raised its price target on Microsoft shares from $347.00 to $385.00 in a Friday, June 9 research note. Finally, Piper Sandler raised her price target on Microsoft stock from $348.00 to $400.00 in a Wednesday, May 31 research note. One analyst has assigned the stock a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “moderate buy” and an average target price of $340.40.
Microsoft Company Profile
Microsoft Corporation develops, licenses, and supports software, services, devices, and solutions worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Productivity and Business Process, 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 business divisions.
Learn more
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