Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading Down 0.4% After Insider Selling

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) was down 0.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $420.00 and last traded at $421.20. Approximately 3,523,185 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 20,543,811 shares. The stock had previously closed at $423.04.

Specifically, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 17,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.85, for a total value of $7,157,129.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 150,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,843,807.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of Microsoft 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,552,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. New Street Research assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $570.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $494.72.

Microsoft Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.13 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50-day moving average of $424.91 and a 200-day moving average of $423.06. 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 quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The firm had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.69 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% in the 2nd 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 acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at about $45,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1,290.0% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $58,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $75,000. 71.13% of the stock is 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.