Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Sells 5,664 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 63.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,266 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 5,664 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 1.8% of Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,460,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bayesian Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 60.1% in the 4th quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 48,500 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $18,238,000 after buying an additional 18,200 shares during the last quarter. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,767 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,545,000 after buying an additional 956 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 1,307,487 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $550,086,000 after buying an additional 5,253 shares during the last quarter. True Link Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 296.7% in the 1st quarter. True Link Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,027 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,274,000 after buying an additional 2,264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,538,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $430.81 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.20 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.27. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $421.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $423.78. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $309.45 and a one year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.69 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America upped their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 17th. New Street Research began coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $570.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $494.72.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,349,953.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $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.