Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Holdings Lifted by Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 5,313,752 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 957,865 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 4.5% of Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,286,507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft during the third quarter worth approximately $62,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 10.1% during the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $145,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $200,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. The trade was a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $412.37 on Wednesday. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $385.58 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.07 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $432.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $424.21.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.93 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.96.

Microsoft Profile

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.