Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC

Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC cut its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 5.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,365 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,243 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 2.4% of Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Fosun International Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the first quarter. Fosun International Ltd now owns 6,633 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,490,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Alliance Wealth Management Group now owns 5,617 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,368,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Guidance Point Advisors LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Guidance Point Advisors LLC now owns 4,294 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,811,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in Microsoft by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. now owns 533 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc increased its stake in Microsoft by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc now owns 540 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $504.24 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.75 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.97, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.06. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.35. The business has a 50-day moving average of $505.43 and a 200-day moving average of $443.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%.The firm had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.95 earnings per share. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Microsoft from $525.00 to $640.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Microsoft from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $650.00 target price (up from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Microsoft from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $612.54.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. This represents a 11.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,850 shares of company stock worth $4,406,512. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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