Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Down 0.3%

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) fell 0.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $425.57 and last traded at $426.62. 3,247,103 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 20,490,092 shares. The stock had previously closed at $428.02.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $506.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $493.94.

Microsoft Trading Down 2.2 %

The firm has a market cap of $3.13 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.42, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $418.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $425.13. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.69 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 28.74%.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Jacobs & Co. CA raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.9% during the third quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 96,021 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $41,318,000 after buying an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 2,997 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,290,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth about $8,825,000. Ashburton Jersey Ltd bought a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,649,000. Finally, Sage Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 46.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sage Advisors LLC now owns 3,948 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,765,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.