Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Down 2.2% Following Insider Selling

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s share price was down 2.2% during trading on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $526.37 and last traded at $533.16. 25,858,658 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 23% from the average daily volume of 33,431,668 shares. The stock had previously closed at $545.18.

Specifically, EVP Amy Hood sold 7,305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $544.37, for a total value of $3,976,622.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 548,091 shares in the company, valued at $298,364,297.67. This represents a 1.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Griffin Securities lowered Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Microsoft from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Microsoft from $586.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $640.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $570.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $609.54.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

These are some of the MSFT headlines that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s upcoming Ignite conference is bringing renewed attention to expected Azure and Copilot developments, supporting the AI-growth narrative. The stock also briefly surpassed Nvidia in market value as Nvidia shares fell, though that relative ranking reflected weakness in Nvidia as well as strength in Microsoft. Microsoft stock rises as Ignite conference puts AI growth narrative in focus
• Negative Sentiment: Democrats reportedly remain unconvinced by Microsoft’s and Google’s pledges on data-center power use, raising the possibility of greater scrutiny or regulation. That could add uncertainty around the energy needs and expansion of Microsoft’s AI infrastructure. Google, Microsoft ‘Fail to Sway’ Democrats With AI Power Pledge
• Negative Sentiment: Anthropic’s new workplace tools, including spreadsheet software, pose a potential competitive challenge to Microsoft 365. Investors may watch whether these products gain traction against established Office applications. Anthropic Now Makes Its Own Spreadsheet Software

Microsoft Trading Up 0.4%

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $518.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $441.37. The firm has a market cap of $3.88 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.30, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.22.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $0.17. Microsoft had a net margin of 41.17% and a return on equity of 31.28%. The company had revenue of $92.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.13 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 20.46%.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 320,715,997 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $164,495,235,000 after acquiring an additional 5,062,791 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter worth $27,338,370,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 0.9% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 64,375,360 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $24,013,297,000 after purchasing an additional 543,172 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at $18,306,443,000. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in Microsoft by 12.0% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 46,694,778 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $17,418,076,000 after purchasing an additional 5,019,702 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices, and digital solutions for consumers, businesses, and public-sector organizations. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, the company is headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Its products and services include the Windows operating system, Microsoft 365 productivity applications, Azure cloud computing, LinkedIn, GitHub, Surface devices, and Xbox gaming products and services. Microsoft also provides business software, cybersecurity tools, and artificial intelligence technologies.