Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Down 2.2%

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s share price fell 2.2% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $455.67 and last traded at $455.90. 5,312,185 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 20,512,787 shares. The stock had previously closed at $466.25.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Macquarie increased their target price on Microsoft from $460.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $480.00 price objective (up previously from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $469.86.

Microsoft Stock Down 2.5 %

The company has a market cap of $3.38 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $433.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $414.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.45 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors 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 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total transaction of $10,642,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,949 shares in the company, valued at $44,674,690.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 322 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.60, for a total transaction of $134,145.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,255 shares in the company, valued at $19,686,433. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total transaction of $10,642,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,674,690.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,566 shares of company stock valued at $10,877,535 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Dougherty Wealth Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 1.2% in the second quarter. Dougherty Wealth Advisers LLC now owns 3,290 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,470,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group now owns 11,090 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,957,000 after buying an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal now owns 74,016 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $33,082,000 after acquiring an additional 855 shares during the period. Prentice Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,633 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,752,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,293 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,813,000 after acquiring an additional 637 shares during the period. 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.