Ahrens Investment Partners LLC Has $3.54 Million Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Ahrens Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Rating) by 2.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,466 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 1.1% of Ahrens Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Ahrens Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,535,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. ACT Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. ACT Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,097 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,378,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement & Preservation of GA LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement & Preservation of GA LLC now owns 4,995 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,680,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. KB Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. KB Financial Partners LLC now owns 7,148 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,404,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Valtinson Bruner Financial Planning LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.9% in the first quarter. Valtinson Bruner Financial Planning LLC now owns 4,238 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,186,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Asset Management LLC grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.99% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $282.91 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.11 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $262.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $280.24. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 26th. The software giant reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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. As a group, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 18th will be issued 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research decreased their price target on Microsoft from $320.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 29th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, April 27th. Cowen decreased their price target on Microsoft from $330.00 to $320.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Microsoft from $370.00 to $330.00 and set an “inline” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 27th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price target on Microsoft from $349.00 to $330.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $335.72.

About Microsoft

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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.