Compound Planning Inc. Acquires 10,582 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Compound Planning Inc. lifted its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 9.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 123,045 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,582 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 1.7% of Compound Planning Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Compound Planning Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $59,507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 51.3% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Bernzott Capital Advisors purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 287.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $379.40 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $412.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $425.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.82 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $356.28 and a 52 week high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.46 earnings per share. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 21.67%.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is reportedly building a more than $1 billion annual AI and cloud business with ByteDance in China, underscoring strong demand for its Azure and OpenAI-related services. Microsoft Scores Massive China AI Win as TikTok Parent Eyes $1 Billion Spend
• Positive Sentiment: OpenAI’s push to monetize ChatGPT with ads highlights continued AI commercialization, which may support sentiment around Microsoft’s OpenAI stake and AI strategy. OpenAI Brings ChatGPT Ads to Japan
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is said to be moving Copilot to usage-based pricing and exploring cheaper AI models, a sign it is trying to improve margins as AI infrastructure costs rise. Microsoft (MSFT) Moves Copilot To Usage Based Pricing As AI Costs Rise
• Negative Sentiment: Several reports say investors are increasingly worried about Microsoft’s AI valuation, spending, and monetization, which is weighing on the stock. Microsoft Faces AI Expectations Test
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is also facing securities class-action lawsuits and investigations over alleged misleading AI-related statements, adding legal uncertainty. Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman LLC Urges Microsoft Corporation Investors to Act: Class Action Filed Alleging Investor Harm
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft walked away from a potential $3 billion Oracle cloud deal suggest possible friction in securing additional cloud capacity. Why Microsoft Stock Slumped Today

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on MSFT. Arete Research boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $730.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. HSBC decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $593.00 to $571.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. President Capital boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, China Renaissance reduced their target price on Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. Forty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $561.20.

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).