Guinness Asset Management LTD lowered its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Rating) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 304,840 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 2,630 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 4.5% of Guinness Asset Management LTD’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Guinness Asset Management LTD’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $95,803,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter worth approximately $229,000. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,431,000. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 3.9% during the third quarter. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC now owns 24,234 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,831,000 after buying an additional 911 shares during the period. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Microsoft by 1.6% during the third quarter. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 5,076 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,431,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Whelan Financial purchased a new position in Microsoft during the third quarter valued at approximately $822,000. 69.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
In other Microsoft news, Director Emma N. Walmsley bought 1,700 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Friday, January 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $295.48 per share, for a total transaction of $502,316.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Teri List sold 1,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $334.90, for a total transaction of $552,585.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.
Shares of MSFT stock traded up $0.64 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $297.95. The company had a trading volume of 1,005,985 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,304,164. The company’s fifty day moving average is $310.02 and its 200 day moving average is $311.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 2.21. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $224.26 and a fifty-two week high of $349.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.23 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.89.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 24th. The software giant reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.17. Microsoft had a net margin of 38.50% and a return on equity of 45.73%. The firm had revenue of $51.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $50.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 9.22 earnings per share for the current year.
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 17th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 16th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.41%.
Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $366.00 to $411.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 4th. Fundamental Research lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $299.93 to $306.55 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 26th. Credit Suisse Group set a $400.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, January 26th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, November 22nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $355.99.
About Microsoft (Get Rating)
Microsoft Corp. engages in the development and support of software, services, devices, and solutions. It operates through the following business segments: Productivity and Business Processes, Intelligent Cloud, and More Personal Computing. The Productivity and Business Processes segment consists of devices and platforms, including Office Commercial, Office Consumer, LinkedIn, and Dynamics business solutions.
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