Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Holdings Lifted by Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 441,738 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 33,540 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 5.0% of Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $190,080,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 35.7% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 10.1% during the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $145,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at approximately $200,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $410.92 on Tuesday. Microsoft Co. has a 52-week low of $385.58 and a 52-week high of $468.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $432.53 and its 200-day moving average is $424.44. The company has a market cap of $3.05 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.09, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total value of $414,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. This represents a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,792,039.56. This represents a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on MSFT. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $510.96.

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation develops and supports software, services, devices and solutions worldwide. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers office, exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft viva, and Microsoft 365 copilot; and office consumer services, such as Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions, Office licensed on-premises, and other office services.