Walter Public Investments Inc. Buys 5,174 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Walter Public Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 77,339 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 5,174 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 5.8% of Walter Public Investments Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Walter Public Investments Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $33,279,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% in the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth about $75,000. Bellevue Group AG lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 47.5% during the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 241.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC now owns 379 shares of the software giant's stock worth $169,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock traded up $0.95 on Friday, reaching $443.57. 18,811,895 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,931,472. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.30 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.60, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $364.13 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $421.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $427.00.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The company had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.99 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.39%.

Microsoft declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on MSFT. StockNews.com upgraded Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, October 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $504.36.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.32, for a total value of $874,640.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 51,852 shares in the company, valued at $22,675,916.64. This represents a 3.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. This represents a 6.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 98,578 shares of company stock valued at $40,553,696 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.