Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading Down 0.6%

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s stock price dropped 0.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $435.97 and last traded at $436.01. Approximately 7,983,615 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 20,476,801 shares. The stock had previously closed at $438.69.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $506.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $494.72.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.8 %

The stock has a market cap of $3.24 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $420.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $424.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The firm 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%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.69 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders 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 positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.97%.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the firm’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 value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total value of $6,009,869.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at $328,473,703.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,784,292.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% in the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter worth approximately $45,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $58,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 1,290.0% during the first quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter worth approximately $75,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by 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.