Markel Group Inc. Has $221.60 Million Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Markel Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 514,980 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 7,500 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 2.0% of Markel Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Markel Group Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $221,596,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased 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 worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter worth approximately $75,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 10.1% in the 3rd 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 purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth approximately $200,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other 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 transaction of $414,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares in the company, 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 this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,911,598. This represents a 17.57 % 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.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $418.95 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.11 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $380.38 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $428.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $427.23.

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

Microsoft declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 27.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, October 28th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective 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. Finally, DA Davidson lowered shares of Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $475.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $511.62.

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.