MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR) by 38.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 28,520 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 17,963 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in MicroStrategy were worth $8,260,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSTR. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of MicroStrategy by 990.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,766,283 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $465,573,000 after buying an additional 2,512,645 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of MicroStrategy by 587.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 664,261 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $111,994,000 after purchasing an additional 567,628 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in MicroStrategy by 971.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 639,707 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $107,855,000 after buying an additional 579,994 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its position in shares of MicroStrategy by 904.7% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 468,200 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $78,939,000 after buying an additional 421,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in MicroStrategy by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 415,098 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $120,221,000 after buying an additional 71,934 shares during the period. 59.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MicroStrategy Stock Up 6.4 %

MicroStrategy stock opened at $255.48 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $331.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $272.40. The stock has a market cap of $61.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -45.35 and a beta of 3.25. MicroStrategy Incorporated has a 52 week low of $96.04 and a 52 week high of $543.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The software maker reported ($3.20) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by ($3.07). MicroStrategy had a negative return on equity of 19.01% and a negative net margin of 251.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho began coverage on shares of MicroStrategy in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $515.00 target price for the company. Maxim Group lifted their target price on MicroStrategy from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of MicroStrategy from $510.00 to $409.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of MicroStrategy from $613.00 to $619.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of MicroStrategy from $515.00 to $421.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MicroStrategy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $536.90.

MicroStrategy Company Profile

MicroStrategy Incorporated provides artificial intelligence-powered enterprise analytics software and services in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and internationally. It offers MicroStrategy ONE, which provides non-technical users with the ability to directly access novel and actionable insights for decision-making; and MicroStrategy Cloud for Government service, which offers always-on threat monitoring that meets the rigorous technical and regulatory needs of governments and financial institutions.