Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Position Lessened by Jensen Investment Management Inc.

Jensen Investment Management Inc. cut its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,121,385 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 86,886 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 7.6% of Jensen Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Jensen Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $912,832,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% in the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth $75,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $145,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MayTech Global Investments LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter worth $200,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of MSFT opened at $415.67 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $429.08 and its 200 day moving average is $426.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $384.81 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The company has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.99 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, DA Davidson downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $511.62.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total transaction of $1,118,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 49,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,080,578.32. The trade was a 4.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,911,598. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Company 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.