Jensen Investment Management Inc. Sells 66,041 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Jensen Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,055,344 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 66,041 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 7.8% of Jensen Investment Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Jensen Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $866,327,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Avondale Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MSFT. Westpark Capital reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $525.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $513.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,481,631. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. This trade represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 131,743 shares of company stock valued at $58,375,673 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.0%

MSFT stock opened at $450.18 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.35 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. Microsoft Co. has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $468.35. The company's 50 day moving average price is $402.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $413.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.94 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's payout ratio is 25.66%.

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.

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