Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Acquired by Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 441,738 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 33,540 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 5.0% of Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.'s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $190,080,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its stake in Microsoft by 35.7% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the third quarter worth about $62,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $412.70. 5,474,371 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 22,318,551. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $385.58 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $432.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $424.01. The stock has a market cap of $3.07 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business posted $2.93 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $510.96.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction of $414,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. The trade was a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were 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 $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Company 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.