Public Sector Pension Investment Board Buys 381,660 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 17.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,557,011 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 381,660 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 5.9% of Public Sector Pension Investment Board's portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Public Sector Pension Investment Board's holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,100,282,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,229,125 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $20,322,513,000 after acquiring an additional 652,493 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 48,526.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 38,501,645 shares of the software giant's stock worth $16,567,258,000 after purchasing an additional 38,422,466 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 34,511,544 shares of the software giant's stock worth $15,426,767,000 after purchasing an additional 97,075 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 27,904,450 shares of the software giant's stock worth $12,007,285,000 after purchasing an additional 636,713 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Microsoft by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 24,091,789 shares of the software giant's stock worth $10,768,771,000 after purchasing an additional 1,563,533 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $415.06 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.42, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $385.58 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $432.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $424.61.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 34.38%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 26.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares of the company's stock, valued at $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction of $414,720.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at $23,850,961.92. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on MSFT. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $509.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. 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, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $510.96.

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.

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