Compound Global Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Compound Global Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 84,193 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 2,250 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 5.3% of Compound Global Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Compound Global Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $35,422,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. now owns 2,663 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,001,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Innova Wealth Partners raised its position in Microsoft by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Innova Wealth Partners now owns 4,239 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,594,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,719 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $646,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 0.4% in the first quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,202 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,609,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Bixby & Associates LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 0.4% in the first quarter. Johnson Bixby & Associates LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,727,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on MSFT shares. StockNews.com downgraded Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Citigroup dropped their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $475.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. KeyCorp started coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $490.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $480.00 target price (up from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $452.61.

Microsoft Stock Up 2.2 %

MSFT stock traded up $8.82 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $406.66. 17,446,724 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,613,484. The stock has a market cap of $3.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.89. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $303.40 and a fifty-two week high of $430.82. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $413.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $390.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 36.43%. Microsoft's revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft's payout ratio is 25.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total transaction of $1,950,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,677,398 shares in the company, valued at $22,770,926.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total transaction of $1,950,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares in the company, valued at $22,770,926.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total transaction of $8,868,941.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at $64,538,265.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,025,258 shares of company stock worth $12,160,356. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.

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