Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Acquired by RAM Investment Partners LLC

RAM Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 16.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 84,052 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 12,149 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 9.4% of RAM Investment Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. RAM Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $36,168,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% in the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter worth $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $75,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 10.1% in the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 241.4% in the second quarter. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC now owns 379 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $169,000 after buying an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $470.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $508.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of MSFT traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $437.03. 21,883,230 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,589,182. The firm has a market cap of $3.25 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $426.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $428.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $366.50 and a 12-month high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.99 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.39%.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership 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.