Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Down 0.4% – Here’s What Happened

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s share price traded down 0.4% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $425.59 and last traded at $426.34. 4,280,486 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 14,406,757 shares. The stock had previously closed at $427.85.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $511.62.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.5 %

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $428.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $427.61. The firm has a market cap of $3.16 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.99 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total value of $414,720.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,850,961.92. This represents a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total transaction of $3,050,352.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. This represents a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its stake in Microsoft by 169.2% during the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth $45,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth about $62,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at about $75,000. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 10.1% during the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

About Microsoft

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.