Archer Investment Corp Has $5.53 Million Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Archer Investment Corp reduced its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,857 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 830 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.5% of Archer Investment Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Archer Investment Corp's holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,532,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 48,526.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 38,501,645 shares of the software giant's stock worth $16,567,258,000 after purchasing an additional 38,422,466 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its position in Microsoft by 47,196.6% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 4,834,658 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,160,850,000 after acquiring an additional 4,824,436 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Microsoft by 67.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,963,863 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,566,250,000 after acquiring an additional 2,404,348 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its position in Microsoft by 46.1% in the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 7,048,244 shares of the software giant's stock worth $3,032,859,000 after acquiring an additional 2,222,483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its position in Microsoft by 56.9% in the third quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 5,344,566 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,299,767,000 after acquiring an additional 1,938,304 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on MSFT. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. DA Davidson lowered Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $475.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $512.93.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. This represents a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT traded down $0.53 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $428.50. The stock had a trading volume of 25,848,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,069,188. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $385.58 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.19 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $429.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $425.92.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.99 earnings per share. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 27.39%.

Microsoft Company 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.