Riverstone Advisors LLC boosted its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Rating) by 151.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,970 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 1,790 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 0.5% of Riverstone Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Riverstone Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $916,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,535,000. Shore Point Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Tobam increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 15,400.0% during the first quarter. Tobam now owns 155 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the first quarter valued at about $68,000. Finally, Evolution Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $84,000. 69.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wedbush dropped their target price on Microsoft from $340.00 to $320.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 27th. Redburn Partners initiated coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, June 29th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $370.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Microsoft from $372.00 to $354.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $365.00 target price on Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, April 27th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $373.00 to $330.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $335.72.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.9 %

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Rating) last issued its 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 return on equity of 43.31% and a net margin of 36.69%. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 18th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 17th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.73%.

Microsoft Company Profile

(Get Rating)

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.

Featured Articles

• Get a free copy of the StockNews.com research report on Microsoft (MSFT)
• Home Depot, Lowe's On Track To Grow 2022 Earnings
• Could Smaller be Better for Investors in Norwegian Cruise Lines?
• Walmart Or Target: Which Is The Stronger Stock?
• Volume Surges Spark Turnarounds for These 3 Stocks
• MarketBeat Podcast: Investing in What You Know Has Changed

Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.