BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. Buys 3,056 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 17.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,423 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,056 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 0.5% of BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 664,908,939 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $250,032,357,000 after purchasing an additional 15,701,937 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the first quarter worth $5,587,119,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 77.6% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 6,281,925 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,642,931,000 after acquiring an additional 2,744,900 shares during the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the first quarter valued at $989,814,000. Finally, M&G Plc bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 1st quarter valued at $846,072,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $418.74 on Wednesday. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $324.39 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The stock has a market cap of $3.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $418.79 and a 200 day moving average of $424.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The firm had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.69 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.74%.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $506.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup lowered their target price on Microsoft from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, DA Davidson cut shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $493.47.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at $219,349,953.73. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 17,378 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.85, for a total transaction of $7,157,129.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 150,161 shares in the company, valued at $61,843,807.85. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.