Ravenstone Capital Management Inc. Boosts Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Ravenstone Capital Management increased its Microsoft position by 4.7% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 36,773 shares valued at approximately $13.6 million. Microsoft now represents 6.8% of the firm’s portfolio and is its second-largest holding.
• Microsoft’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with EPS of $4.74 and revenue of $90.01 billion, up 17.7% year over year. Azure and Copilot growth continue to support optimism about AI monetization, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $560.27.
• Insiders have recently sold shares: CEO Judson Althoff and EVP Takeshi Numoto sold a combined 14,810 shares, and insiders have sold $17.3 million worth of stock over the past 90 days. Institutional investors own 71.13% of Microsoft’s shares.

Ravenstone Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 4.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,773 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 1,663 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 6.8% of Ravenstone Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Ravenstone Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $13,612,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 27.0% during the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant's stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 0.3% in the second quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $5,658,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 410.4% in the third quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 2,138 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,374 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,000,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 23,097 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $9,735,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure and Copilot momentum remain the primary catalysts. Azure reportedly surpassed $100 billion in annual revenue, while Microsoft 365 Copilot exceeded 30 million paid seats. Those milestones reinforce the view that Microsoft is beginning to monetize its AI investments at scale. Price Prediction: One Number Could Decide How High Microsoft Goes in 2027
• Positive Sentiment: Strong quarterly results continue to support the bull case. Microsoft’s latest report showed earnings per share of $4.74 versus a $4.24 consensus estimate and revenue of $90.01 billion, up 17.7% year over year. Cloud computing and AI helped drive roughly 30% profit growth. These Telltale Signs Cue Microsoft Investors Despite Earnings Surge
• Positive Sentiment: Enterprise adoption and partnerships are broadening demand. Swiss companies are increasing their use of Microsoft’s AI and cloud products, with governance and data sovereignty controls supporting adoption. S&P Global also expanded its integration of AI-ready data into Microsoft 365 Copilot workflows. Swiss Enterprises Prioritize Microsoft AI Governance
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and institutional sentiment remains constructive. William Blair reaffirmed a Buy rating, citing early AI monetization, while Altarock Partners increased its Microsoft position. Microsoft Buy Rating Reaffirmed

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at $49,007,086.83. This represents a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 37,310 shares of company stock worth $17,256,219 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Microsoft from $680.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $510.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Microsoft from $502.00 to $522.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. UBS Group set a $525.00 target price on Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered Microsoft from a "market perform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $560.27.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $481.63 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.58 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.82, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $414.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $408.06.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.65 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft's product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).

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