Miracle Mile Advisors LLC Boosts Position in Microsoft Co. (MSFT)

Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 127.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,683 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,731 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,892,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA grew its stake in Microsoft by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA now owns 6,990 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $598,000 after buying an additional 580 shares during the last quarter. Searle & CO. grew its stake in Microsoft by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Searle & CO. now owns 34,161 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,922,000 after buying an additional 589 shares during the last quarter. Lehman Financial Resources Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Lehman Financial Resources Inc. now owns 3,750 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 590 shares during the last quarter. Fagan Associates Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Fagan Associates Inc. now owns 94,714 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $8,102,000 after buying an additional 594 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 33,732 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,885,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. 72.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Get Microsoft alerts:

Shares of Microsoft opened at $100.41 on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The company has a quick ratio of 3.35, a current ratio of 3.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $778.76 billion, a PE ratio of 30.34, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.04. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $68.02 and a fifty-two week high of $102.69.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 26th. The software giant reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $26.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.78 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 36.49% and a net margin of 13.72%. The company’s revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.73 earnings per share. equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 16th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 15th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.76%.

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Vetr upgraded Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $97.68 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 1st. Zacks Investment Research downgraded Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 6th. Deutsche Bank set a $120.00 price objective on Microsoft and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 12th. William Blair restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, March 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Microsoft from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $105.49.

In other news, Director Sandra E. Peterson acquired 5,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $101.96 per share, for a total transaction of $550,584.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $550,584. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Christopher C. Capossela sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.99, for a total value of $1,009,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 158,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,017,114.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.49% of the company’s stock.

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation develops, licenses, and supports software products, services, and devices worldwide. The company's Productivity and Business Processes segment offers Office 365 commercial products and services for businesses, including Office, Exchange, SharePoint, Skype for Business, and related Client Access Licenses (CALs); Office 365 consumer services, such as Skype, Outlook.com, and OneDrive; Dynamics business solutions, such as financial management, enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management, supply chain management, and analytics applications for small and mid-size businesses, large organizations, and divisions of enterprises; and LinkedIn online professional network.

Worst Month Ever in Italian Bonds Leaves Confidence in Tatters

Italian bonds may have bounced off this week’s stunning losses, but some of the biggest investors say the worst isn’t over.

While the nation’s benchmark yields had biggest monthly jump in May since records began in 1993, they are “still pretty low” for Andrew Balls, chief investment officer for global fixed income at Pacific Investment Management Co. The firm has had an underweight position on Italy’s debt, he said, as political and market uncertainties persist.

#lazy-img-328213249:before{padding-top:56.25%;}

“Anyone who’s got a clear idea on Italy over the next couple of years are a lot smarter than we are,” Balls said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “I haven’t got more gray hair over the weekend because in times of great uncertainty you can just try and watch from the sidelines.”

The political upheaval in Rome that brought the euro’s very existence into question saw the spreads between Italian and German bond yields to surge beyond 300 basis points on Tuesday, the widest since 2013. It has retreated to about 250 since then.

Still, “it is too early to conclude that the worst has passed,” Martin van Vliet, a strategist at ING Groep NV said in emailed comments. Analysts including van Vliet have come up with a range of potential scenarios on the spread may move, corresponding to how the Italian risks evolve, over the next six to 12 months, according to an ING note to clients published this week.

The “most benign” outcome could contain the yield gap in the upper half of a 100-200 basis point range, while a “muddling through scenario” that seems most likely may see it settle in the 200-300 basis point band, they predictBut things could get a lot worse. An “escalation” of the situation could lead to a sovereign downgrade for Italy and see foreign investors cut their holdings of the nation’s bonds. In such a case, the yield differential will probably shoot up to 500 basis points, according to INGThe low-probability, worst-case scenario where “markets increasingly discount an Italian exit from the euro zone” could send the spread as high as 1000 basis points

— With assistance by Francine Lacqua

LISTEN TO ARTICLE 1:58 Share Share on Facebook Post to Twitter Send as an Email Print