Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Holdings Cut by Argent Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Argent Capital Management cut its Microsoft stake by 4.1% in the third quarter, selling 15,829 shares and retaining 373,057 shares valued at about $191.3 million.
• Microsoft beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, with revenue up 18.8% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend from $0.91 to $0.98 per share.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, but reports that Microsoft is consolidating AI-cloud partnerships and scaling back some rented capacity have raised questions about AI demand, spending, and returns.

Argent Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 373,057 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 15,829 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 1.4% of Argent Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Argent Capital Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $191,341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in Microsoft by 2.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 315,653,206 shares of the software giant's stock worth $117,744,959,000 after acquiring an additional 8,944,917 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,338,370,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 0.9% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 64,375,360 shares of the software giant's stock worth $24,013,297,000 after acquiring an additional 543,172 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth $18,306,443,000. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 46,694,778 shares of the software giant's stock worth $17,418,076,000 after acquiring an additional 5,019,702 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Griffin Securities lowered Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of Microsoft from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, September 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $609.54.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $530.61 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.94 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $516.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $440.18. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $559.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.72 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $92.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $90.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 41.17% and a return on equity of 31.28%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.13 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.89 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.00%.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s free-cash-flow position may offer some reassurance: an analysis notes that several other major AI hyperscalers are generating negative free cash flow, while Microsoft is generating positive cash flow. Is Microsoft Getting Enough Credit for Better Free Cash Flow Compared to its Peers?
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports say Microsoft plans to reduce the number of neocloud partners it uses, wind down rented AI capacity from Oracle, and declined a Texas data-center expansion with Nscale. This could help control costs and give Microsoft tighter oversight as it builds its own infrastructure, but the implications for capacity growth remain uncertain. Microsoft plans to use fewer neoclouds as AI buildout shows signs of strain
• Negative Sentiment: Investors may read the canceled or reduced AI-computing commitments as a sign that Microsoft is reassessing demand, project timing, or returns on its data-center spending. The shift comes as reports highlight construction delays and the rising cost of meeting a growing AI backlog, intensifying scrutiny of whether heavy investment will pay off. Microsoft is winding down Oracle deal to rent AI cloud capacity, Bloomberg News reports
• Negative Sentiment: Broader unease around AI spending and tech-market volatility may also weigh on MSFT, as investors question the scale of data-center investment relative to future cash returns. Microsoft and Oracle's AI ambitions are suddenly a lot more expensive

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Amy Hood sold 7,305 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $545.42, for a total value of $3,984,293.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 555,396 shares in the company, valued at $302,924,086.32. This represents a 1.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 135,504 shares of company stock valued at $68,138,024 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices, and digital solutions for consumers, businesses, and public-sector organizations. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, the company is headquartered in Redmond, Washington.

Its products and services include the Windows operating system, Microsoft 365 productivity applications, Azure cloud computing, LinkedIn, GitHub, Surface devices, and Xbox gaming products and services. Microsoft also provides business software, cybersecurity tools, and artificial intelligence technologies.

Microsoft serves customers around the world through its products, online platforms, and network of business partners.

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