Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading Down 0.7%

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s share price traded down 0.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $396.02 and last traded at $396.44. 5,858,638 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 21,762,066 shares. The stock had previously closed at $399.12.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on MSFT. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $455.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $460.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Microsoft from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $434.05.

Microsoft Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.03 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $414.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $386.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The software giant reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.17. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.27% and a return on equity of 38.40%. The firm had revenue of $62.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $61.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.32 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 11.61 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.12%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 11,677,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,770,926.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares in the company, valued at $22,770,926.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total transaction of $18,530,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 574,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $236,414,839.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock valued at $30,690,456 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $58,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1,290.0% during the first quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the third quarter valued at $69,000. Finally, 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 valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Company Profile

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.