Jensen Investment Management Inc. Sells 133,843 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Jensen Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,208,271 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 133,843 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 8.1% of Jensen Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Jensen Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $986,987,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% during the second quarter. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC now owns 111,433 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $49,805,000 after buying an additional 1,628 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 269,618 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $120,506,000 after purchasing an additional 947 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 21.5% in the second quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 112,620 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $50,336,000 after purchasing an additional 19,947 shares in the last quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% during the second quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,074 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,290,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Slocum Gordon & Co LLP increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% in the second quarter. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP now owns 4,259 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,904,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total value of $15,600,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,784,292.95. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at $219,349,953.73. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total value of $15,600,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at $203,784,292.95. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on MSFT. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Wedbush restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday. Oppenheimer lowered Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $495.68.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $418.16 on Monday. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $324.39 and a one year high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market cap of $3.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $419.66 and its 200-day moving average is $424.54.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The firm had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.69 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.74%.

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.