RAM Investment Partners LLC Trims Stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

RAM Investment Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 88,745 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 226 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 8.2% of RAM Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. RAM Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $33,314,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 1.4% during the first quarter. Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 6,650 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,496,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. now owns 315,594 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $133,023,000 after buying an additional 18,052 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc. now owns 17,426 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $7,345,000 after buying an additional 1,268 shares during the period. Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 147.9% during the fourth quarter. Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. now owns 1,748 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $737,000 after buying an additional 1,043 shares during the period. Finally, Intellus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $16,075,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $535.64 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $491.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $435.76. The firm has a market cap of $3.98 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.06. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $555.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.34%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total value of $7,330,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 98,010 shares in the company, valued at $44,906,221.80. This represents a 14.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 43,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,743 shares of company stock worth $24,921,913 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, TD Securities boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $609.86.

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.