Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading Down 0.6%

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) was down 0.6% on Friday . The company traded as low as $435.97 and last traded at $436.01. Approximately 7,983,615 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 20,476,801 shares. The stock had previously closed at $438.69.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. New Street Research assumed coverage on Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $570.00 price target on the stock. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $506.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $494.72.

Microsoft Stock Performance

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $421.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $423.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.24 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. Microsoft’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.69 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.97%.

Microsoft announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total transaction of $6,009,869.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at $219,349,953.73. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total value of $6,009,869.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,087,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 32,669 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $12,285,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Financial Strategies LLC now owns 7,145 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,687,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Prism Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. Prism Advisors Inc. now owns 1,286 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $484,000 after buying an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenwich Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,731 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $19,829,000 after buying an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.