Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Down 0.8%

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) traded down 0.8% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $398.55 and last traded at $398.86. 4,884,159 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 21,878,039 shares. The stock had previously closed at $402.25.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $455.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $471.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Three equities research 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $452.61.

Microsoft Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $414.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $389.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market cap of $2.93 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.53, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.89.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. The business 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 company’s revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.45 EPS. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 11.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.97%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total transaction of $1,341,414.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 570,826 shares in the company, valued at $231,823,855.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Microsoft news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total transaction of $1,950,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,770,926.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value of $1,341,414.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 570,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $231,823,855.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock worth $30,690,456. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 1,290.0% during the first 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 last quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 89.0% in the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 188 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. 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.