Bradford L. Smith Sells 75,000 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total value of $32,703,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 476,999 shares in the company, valued at $207,995,413.95. The trade was a 13.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $433.35 on Thursday. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $387.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $411.42. The firm has a market cap of $3.22 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.94 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $507.77.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Newton One Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

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.