Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Down 0.9% After Insider Selling

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares were down 0.9% on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $404.60 and last traded at $404.73. Approximately 2,995,861 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 20,589,637 shares. The stock had previously closed at $408.39.

Specifically, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total value of $15,600,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 496,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,784,292.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $353,189,942.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $520.00 to $506.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $494.72.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.6 %

The company has a market cap of $2.99 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company’s 50-day moving average is $427.59 and its 200 day moving average is $422.79.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.69 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Q3 Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $2,130,000. OxenFree Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $1,667,000. Citizens National Bank Trust Department lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 34,723 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $13,057,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RPG Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. RPG Investment Advisory LLC now owns 60,922 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $22,909,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.