Walter Public Investments Inc. Has $20.11 Million Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Walter Public Investments Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 35.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 53,573 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 29,202 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 3.8% of Walter Public Investments Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Walter Public Investments Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $20,111,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Newton One Investments LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 66.7% during the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 50.0% during the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $62,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $650.00 price objective (up from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. TD Securities lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $612.54.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total transaction of $2,557,502.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. The trade was a 11.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 8,850 shares of company stock worth $4,406,512 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of MSFT opened at $507.23 on Monday. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $555.45. The company has a market cap of $3.77 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $506.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $444.52.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.95 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. Research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 24.34%.

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.

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