Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading Down 2.7% – What’s Next?

Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) dropped 2.7% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $475.08 and last traded at $478.56. Approximately 34,510,734 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 55% from the average daily volume of 22,229,420 shares. The stock had previously closed at $492.02.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, November 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $682.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $632.34.

Microsoft Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $506.30 and a 200 day moving average of $502.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.04, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.48. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 35.71%.The business had revenue of $77.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $75.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.89%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total value of $1,364,352.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 55,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,703,959.04. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $518.64, for a total transaction of $19,967,640.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 461,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $239,402,668.08. This trade represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 54,100 shares of company stock worth $27,598,872. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AMS Capital Ltda raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. AMS Capital Ltda now owns 88,347 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $45,759,000 after acquiring an additional 4,124 shares in the last quarter. Saranac Partners Ltd acquired a new position in Microsoft in the third quarter valued at approximately $12,115,000. Severin Investments LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 46.1% in the third quarter. Severin Investments LLC now owns 4,000 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,072,000 after purchasing an additional 1,263 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Microsoft by 2.6% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 439,993 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $227,895,000 after purchasing an additional 11,017 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Microsoft by 5.9% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 107,733 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $55,824,000 after purchasing an additional 5,994 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.