Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. Trims Stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 200,221 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 957 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 3.2% of Tandem Investment Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $84,394,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 27.0% in the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. increased its holdings in Microsoft by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,658,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its position in Microsoft by 1.8% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 2,799,261 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,204,664,000 after acquiring an additional 49,735 shares during the period. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 410.4% during the third quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 2,138 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 13,689,356 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,890,530,000 after purchasing an additional 49,288 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $387.30 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.88 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $385.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $411.53.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Microsoft from $520.00 to $435.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Microsoft from $530.00 to $472.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $450.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $475.00 target price (down previously from $500.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, April 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $493.13.

About Microsoft

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.