Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Down 2.1% – What’s Next?

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) dropped 2.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $416.66 and last traded at $417.74. Approximately 7,882,910 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 20,428,129 shares. The stock had previously closed at $426.89.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $503.03.

Microsoft Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average is $422.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $425.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.91.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.99 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at $219,349,953.73. This trade represents a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 197,829 shares of company stock worth $80,966,837. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% in 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 purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth $62,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $75,000. Finally, Bellevue Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 47.5% during the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by 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.