Compass Capital Management Inc. Reduces Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Compass Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 162,443 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 417 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 4.5% of Compass Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Compass Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $68,470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 165,024,812 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $70,790,682,000 after purchasing an additional 3,264,648 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 54,590,791 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $23,490,417,000 after purchasing an additional 2,125,030 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 47,229,125 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $20,322,513,000 after buying an additional 652,493 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 48,526.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 38,501,645 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $16,567,258,000 after buying an additional 38,422,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 38,420,657 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $16,104,959,000 after acquiring an additional 406,940 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of MSFT opened at $378.80 on Monday. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $376.91 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market capitalization of $2.82 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The business’s 50 day moving average is $405.52 and its 200 day moving average is $419.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on MSFT. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $520.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.59.

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.