Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading Down 0.4% Following Insider Selling

Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) traded down 0.4% during trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $420.00 and last traded at $421.20. 3,523,185 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 20,543,811 shares. The stock had previously closed at $423.04.

Specifically, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 17,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.85, for a total transaction of $7,157,129.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 150,161 shares in the company, valued at $61,843,807.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total value of $1,027,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,552,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $494.72.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $424.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $423.09. The company has a market cap of $3.17 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.69 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 10,066 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,785,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Microsoft by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,797,891 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,428,159,000 after buying an additional 49,526 shares during the period. Mathes Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Mathes Company Inc. now owns 18,154 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,827,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 18,669 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $7,020,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046 shares during the period. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 50,337 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $18,929,000 after acquiring an additional 1,533 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% 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.