Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Down 3.5% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) dropped 3.5% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $349.20 and last traded at $352.83. 64,519,166 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 77% from the average session volume of 36,489,738 shares. The stock had previously closed at $365.46.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft continues to deepen its AI ecosystem through new partnerships and integrations, including expanded collaborations with FPT, PitchBook, Daloopa, and ICON plc, which reinforce demand for Microsoft 365 Copilot and Azure-based enterprise tools. PitchBook expands premium AI integrations with Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot in Excel
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s 20-year power deal with Chevron could help secure long-term energy capacity for AI data centers, reducing one of the biggest infrastructure bottlenecks for Azure growth. Microsoft Solves AI’s Biggest Bottleneck With Chevron Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary remains constructive from some corners, with several reports arguing MSFT is oversold and that its AI and cloud franchises still support meaningful long-term upside. Microsoft has an AI story that goes beyond OpenAI
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft and OpenAI backers are helping launch Raise US, a workforce-training group aimed at preparing workers for AI disruption; the move supports Microsoft’s broader AI positioning but is not a direct near-term earnings catalyst. Microsoft supports new organization to prepare workers for AI
• Negative Sentiment: Stifel lowered its price target on Microsoft to $400 and warned that Wall Street may be too optimistic about fiscal 2027 gross margins as Azure growth and capital spending weigh on profitability. Microsoft stock slips amid analyst concern about margins
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft raised Xbox console prices again worldwide starting Aug. 1 because of a sharp memory and storage chip shortage, highlighting rising hardware costs and weaker gaming economics. Microsoft lifts price of Xbox consoles due to soaring component costs
• Negative Sentiment: EU regulators said Microsoft Azure should face stricter Digital Markets Act “gatekeeper” rules, which could add compliance burdens and limit some cloud-pricing or platform advantages. Amazon and Microsoft cloud computing services should fall under EU tech rules
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is also facing renewed skepticism around its quantum computing claims and a securities class-action process, both of which add headline risk and pressure sentiment. Microsoft’s quantum computing technology called into question again

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Microsoft from $675.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup initiated coverage on Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 1st. They issued a “market outperform” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, HSBC decreased their price target on Microsoft from $593.00 to $571.00 in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Forty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $560.86.

Microsoft Trading Down 3.5%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $411.93 and a 200-day moving average of $422.73. The company has a market cap of $2.62 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.00, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total transaction of $1,812,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. The trade was a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,928,792.23. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Taylor Securities Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $2,616,000. PMG Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter worth about $828,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 70,175 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $36,347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,572 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 949,901 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $493,860,000 after acquiring an additional 9,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 12,492 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,041,000 after acquiring an additional 1,698 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft’s product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).