Santori & Peters Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Santori & Peters Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Rating) by 6.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,115 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 0.7% of Santori & Peters Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Santori & Peters Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $24,401,940,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $2,952,329,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 302,541,869 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $101,750,881,000 after acquiring an additional 8,108,943 shares in the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $11,872,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 28.5% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,476,729 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,868,814,000 after acquiring an additional 3,207,415 shares in the last quarter. 69.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $282.47 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $262.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $280.40. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $241.51 and a twelve month high of $349.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.11 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.93.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 17th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Itau BBA Securities started 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 25th. Cowen cut their price target on Microsoft from $330.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Microsoft from $325.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Monday, June 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Microsoft from $372.00 to $354.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $333.88.

Microsoft Company Profile

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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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