Compound Planning Inc. increased its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, according to 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 accounts for about 1.7% of Compound Planning Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Compound Planning Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $59,507,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Claris Financial LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $6,809,000. TMB Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $5,750,000. Briggs Wealth Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $795,000. ATX Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $1,475,000. Finally, Michels Family Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. Michels Family Financial LLC now owns 2,918 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,411,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research firms recently issued reports on MSFT. BNP Paribas Exane cut their target price on Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Mizuho dropped their price target on Microsoft from $620.00 to $515.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Microsoft from $600.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Microsoft from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Forty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $561.20.
Microsoft Trading Up 0.1%
NASDAQ MSFT opened at $379.40 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $356.28 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The company has a market capitalization of $2.82 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a fifty day moving average of $412.27 and a 200 day moving average of $425.90.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.46 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current year.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors 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 yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.67%.
Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft
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
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total transaction of $1,812,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. This trade represents a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft Company Profile
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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