Which of the following numbers can be expressed as a decimal that terminates?

seven over four, five over nine, three over eight, two over three

All simplified fractions whose denominator is a product of powers of two and five can be expressed as a decimal that terminates (i.e. NOT a recurring decimal).
Therefore 1/3 will give a recurring decimal,
1/16  (16=2^4)  will give a terminating decimal, namely 0.0625
1/125 (125=5^3) = 0.008, etc.
So
7/4  since 2*2=4, the decimal will terminate   (1.75)
5/9, since there is a factor of 3 in the denominator (not 2, not 5), decimal is recurring.
3/8, since 2*2*2=8, decimal will terminate (0.375)
2/3  again, 3 in the denominator means fraction will not terminate.

How many shares did he have to begin with?