Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) were down 0.7% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $431.38 and last traded at $432.21. Approximately 3,130,642 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 20,449,293 shares. The stock had previously closed at $435.15.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. New Street Research started coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $570.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $494.72.

Microsoft Price Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $421.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $423.89. The company has a market capitalization of $3.26 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

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

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total transaction 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total transaction of $15,600,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares in the company, valued at $203,784,292.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total transaction of $1,027,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,552,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Verity & Verity LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 2.6% during the second quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 64,180 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $28,685,000 after buying an additional 1,635 shares during the period. Summit Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 14.7% during the 2nd quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,454 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,885,000 after acquiring an additional 829 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 24,328 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $10,873,000 after purchasing an additional 1,431 shares during the period. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.5% during the second quarter. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 41,022 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $18,335,000 after purchasing an additional 1,370 shares during the period. Finally, Cannon Financial Strategists Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $955,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

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.