Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Acquired by Pragma Gestao DE Patrimonio Ltd.

Pragma Gestao DE Patrimonio Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 240.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 34,000 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,000 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 7.6% of Pragma Gestao DE Patrimonio Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Pragma Gestao DE Patrimonio Ltd.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $14,630,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 27.0% in the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,808 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $11,088,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 2,196 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $982,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Quantum Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Quantum Private Wealth LLC now owns 44,032 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $19,680,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BlueSky Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth $1,047,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $511.62.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total transaction of $1,118,525.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 49,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,080,578.32. This trade represents a 4.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $418.95 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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $380.38 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $428.83 and its 200-day moving average is $427.39.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Microsoft declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.