Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading Down 0.3% – Here’s Why

Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) dropped 0.3% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $447.51 and last traded at $448.14. Approximately 3,649,151 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 20,475,389 shares. The stock had previously closed at $449.56.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $505.43.

Microsoft Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.33 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $423.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $427.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.99 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction of $414,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at $23,850,961.92. This represents a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,792,039.56. The trade was a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brass Tax Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.6% in the third quarter. Brass Tax Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,819 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,225,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS grew its stake in Microsoft by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS now owns 44,895 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $19,318,000 after purchasing an additional 1,933 shares in the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth about $6,153,000. DGS Capital Management LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 23,905 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $10,286,000 after purchasing an additional 817 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,488 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,809,000 after buying an additional 591 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.