Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 39,890,000 shares, a decline of 7.5% from the July 15th total of 43,130,000 shares. Approximately 0.5% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 35,610,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days.
In related news, EVP Jean Philippe Courtois sold 15,140 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.00, for a total value of $3,255,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 560,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $120,507,070. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the first quarter valued at approximately $328,820,000. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 22.9% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 28,404,917 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,479,739,000 after acquiring an additional 5,287,700 shares during the period. Viking Global Investors LP lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 257.7% during the first quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 4,900,338 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $772,832,000 after acquiring an additional 3,530,518 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 3.5% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 103,523,946 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $16,326,780,000 after buying an additional 3,527,148 shares during the period. Finally, Copper Rock Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $178,633,000. 70.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $212.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 2.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $205.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $180.41. Microsoft has a one year low of $132.25 and a one year high of $217.64. The firm has a market cap of $1,603.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.90.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The software giant reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.12. Microsoft had a return on equity of 39.45% and a net margin of 30.96%. The firm had revenue of $38.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.59 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft will post 6.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.42%.
Several research firms have commented on MSFT. Citigroup boosted their target price on Microsoft from $179.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Argus boosted their target price on Microsoft from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Credit Suisse Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Microsoft from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 19th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on Microsoft from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $213.23.
About Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation develops, licenses, and supports software, services, devices, and solutions worldwide. Its company’s Productivity and Business Processes segment offers Office 365 commercial products and services, such as Office, Exchange, SharePoint, Skype for Business, Microsoft Teams, and related Client Access Licenses (CALs); Office 365 consumer services, including Skype, Outlook.com, and OneDrive; LinkedIn online professional network; and Dynamics business solutions comprising financial management, enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management, supply chain management, and analytics applications for small and medium businesses, large organizations, and divisions of enterprises.
Further Reading: What is an Initial Coin Offering (ICO)?
Northern Oil & Gas, Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN:NOG) Short Interest Update
Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (NYSE:HP) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest