Breakwater Investment Management Has $12.21 Million Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Breakwater Investment Management raised its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,320 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 5.5% of Breakwater Investment Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Breakwater Investment Management’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $12,211,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its stake in 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 during the period. Richardson Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1,290.0% during the 1st quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth $75,000. Bellevue Group AG grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 1st quarter worth $80,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $406.35 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $420.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $424.58. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $334.69 and a 12-month high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.08 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.99 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.11%.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday. Mizuho increased their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup cut their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $503.03.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

About Microsoft

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.