Tempus Wealth Planning LLC Cuts Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Tempus Wealth Planning LLC reduced its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 20,604 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 201 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 3.4% of Tempus Wealth Planning LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $7,748,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,887 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,359,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% during the third quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 470,301 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $148,497,000 after acquiring an additional 5,366 shares in the last quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC now owns 69,053 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $25,967,000 after purchasing an additional 6,484 shares in the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its position in Microsoft by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 17,471 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,516,000 after purchasing an additional 1,245 shares during the period. Finally, Bensler LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bensler LLC now owns 86,932 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $27,449,000 after purchasing an additional 2,674 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on MSFT. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $489.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective (up from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $452.61.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $406.32 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $295.25 and a 12 month high of $430.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.02 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.74, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $414.48 and its 200 day moving average is $387.70.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.40% and a net margin of 36.27%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.45 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.12%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total transaction of $1,341,414.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 570,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $231,823,855.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total transaction of $8,868,941.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 159,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,538,265.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value of $1,341,414.36. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 570,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $231,823,855.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock valued at $30,690,456. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.