Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Down 0.8%

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares were down 0.8% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $398.55 and last traded at $398.86. Approximately 4,884,159 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 21,878,039 shares. The stock had previously closed at $402.25.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $465.00 price target (up previously from $455.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, March 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $452.61.

Microsoft Stock Down 2.1 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $414.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $389.01. The company has a market cap of $2.93 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.89.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The firm had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.45 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 11.71 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total transaction of $8,868,941.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,538,265.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value of $1,341,414.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 570,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $231,823,855.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total value of $8,868,941.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 159,764 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,538,265.44. 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 three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 1,290.0% in the first quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 89.0% during the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 223 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 188 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.