Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. Has $16.57 Million Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 38,497 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 5.5% of Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $16,565,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in Microsoft by 27.0% during the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 12.5% during the second quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 15,830 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $7,075,000 after purchasing an additional 1,759 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 23,697 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $11,080,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Carr Financial Group Corp now owns 12,802 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,722,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Finally, Williams & Novak LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Williams & Novak LLC now owns 2,803 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,253,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total transaction of $1,118,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 49,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,080,578.32. This represents a 4.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $418.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $428.83 and its 200-day moving average is $428.45. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $366.50 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.99 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 27.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer downgraded Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.90.

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.