Traders Purchase High Volume of Microsoft Call Options (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Traders acquired 415,155 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 35% compared to the average volume of 306,651 call options.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $415.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 34,151,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,123,586. The company has a market cap of $3.09 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft has a one year low of $385.58 and a one year high of $468.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $432.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $424.88.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.38% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.93 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft will post 12.89 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 26.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Oppenheimer cut shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.72.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total value of $1,118,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 49,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,080,578.32. The trade was a 4.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its position in Microsoft by 35.7% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. IFS Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% during the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in 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.