Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Down 6.5% on Analyst Downgrade

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s share price traded down 6.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $525.00 to $510.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Microsoft traded as low as $413.94 and last traded at $413.69. 22,811,416 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 10% from the average session volume of 20,782,309 shares. The stock had previously closed at $442.33.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.96.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at $48,911,598. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction of $414,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Joel Adams & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $720,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 148,268 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $62,495,000 after acquiring an additional 2,349 shares in the last quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 12,075 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,090,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 54.3% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Advisors Asset Management LLC now owns 1,049 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Timber Creek Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 39,541 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $16,667,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.0 %

The stock has a market cap of $3.09 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.42, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business’s fifty day moving average is $432.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $424.88.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 earned $2.93 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

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.