Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Stake in Strategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Strategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR - Free Report) by 227.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,891 shares of the software maker's stock after buying an additional 9,643 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.'s holdings in Strategy were worth $4,023,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MSTR. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its stake in shares of Strategy by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 8,991 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $2,604,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC increased its holdings in Strategy by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 1,120 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Strategy by 38.2% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 141 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its holdings in Strategy by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 260 shares of the software maker's stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. grew its position in shares of Strategy by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. now owns 5,380 shares of the software maker's stock worth $1,558,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.84% of the company's stock.

Strategy Stock Up 0.2 %

Strategy stock traded up $0.47 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $311.92. The stock had a trading volume of 4,196,463 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,968,936. The company has a market capitalization of $80.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -55.26 and a beta of 3.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.65. Strategy Incorporated has a one year low of $101.00 and a one year high of $543.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $295.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $307.59.

Strategy (NASDAQ:MSTR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The software maker reported ($3.20) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($3.07). Strategy had a negative net margin of 251.73% and a negative return on equity of 19.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MSTR shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded Strategy from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $220.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Strategy from $515.00 to $421.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Maxim Group lifted their price objective on Strategy from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Compass Point upgraded Strategy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on Strategy from $613.00 to $619.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $508.09.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Wei-Ming Shao purchased 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $85.00 per share, for a total transaction of $42,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 500 shares in the company, valued at $42,500. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew Kang acquired 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $85.00 per share, for a total transaction of $127,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 1,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $127,500. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 8,000 shares of company stock valued at $680,000 and have sold 22,998 shares valued at $7,671,926. Insiders own 9.16% of the company's stock.

Strategy Company Profile

Strategy Incorporated, formerly known as MicroStrategy, provides artificial intelligence-powered enterprise analytics software and services in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and internationally. It offers Strategy ONE, a platform that allows non-technical users to access novel and actionable insights for decision-making, and Strategy Cloud for Government, which provides always-on threat monitoring designed to meet the strict technical and regulatory standards of governments and financial institutions.