Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Ransom Advisory Ltd

Key Points

• Ransom Advisory Ltd reduced its holdings in Microsoft by 2.7%, now owning approximately $23.57 million worth of shares, making Microsoft its largest investment at 11.1% of the portfolio.
• Several analysts have upgraded Microsoft stock, with price targets ranging from $600 to $675, reflecting a general confidence in the company's performance in the market.
• Microsoft declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91, up from the previous $0.83, which is set to be paid on December 11th, 2023.

Ransom Advisory Ltd reduced its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,390 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,340 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 11.1% of Ransom Advisory Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Ransom Advisory Ltd's holdings in Microsoft were worth $23,572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Newton One Investments LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% in the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 155.7% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 156 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.9%

MSFT traded up $9.48 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $517.93. 52,313,925 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,503,336. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $511.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $458.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%.The company's revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.95 EPS. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 24.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $530.00 to $582.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Mizuho upped their target price on Microsoft from $540.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on Microsoft from $490.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Westpark Capital reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $612.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total transaction of $2,557,502.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,624,012.52. The trade was a 11.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $504.78, for a total transaction of $75,315,699.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 790,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $399,206,272.56. This trade represents a 15.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.