Compass Ion Advisors LLC Sells 519 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Compass Ion Advisors LLC lessened its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,379 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 519 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 0.9% of Compass Ion Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Compass Ion Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $35,920,047,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $9,625,201,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 664,908,939 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $250,032,357,000 after buying an additional 15,701,937 shares in the last quarter. TCI Fund Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $4,000,376,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 277.8% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 7,004,341 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,633,912,000 after acquiring an additional 5,150,160 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 322 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.60, for a total value of $134,145.20. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,686,433. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total value of $10,642,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,674,690.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 322 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $416.60, for a total transaction of $134,145.20. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,255 shares in the company, valued at $19,686,433. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,566 shares of company stock valued at $10,877,535 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $480.00 target price (up from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Macquarie boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $460.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $469.86.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $454.70 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.38 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $435.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $415.23. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $309.45 and a one year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 25.97%.

Microsoft 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.