Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Down 0.2% Following Analyst Downgrade

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares traded down 0.2% during trading on Friday after The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on the stock from $515.00 to $500.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Microsoft traded as low as $413.25 and last traded at $414.90. 3,381,037 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 20,334,973 shares. The stock had previously closed at $415.84.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on MSFT. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $506.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. DA Davidson downgraded Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Argus boosted their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $493.47.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $328,473,703.53. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 17,378 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.85, for a total value of $7,157,129.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 150,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,843,807.85. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total value of $6,009,869.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rebalance LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.7% during the second quarter. Rebalance LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,542,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. First National Bank Sioux Falls boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.4% during the second quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 6,340 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,834,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,719 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $646,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Partnership Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.4% during the first quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,202 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,609,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Doheny Asset Management CA boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.4% during the first quarter. Doheny Asset Management CA now owns 6,397 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,691,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.1 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $417.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $424.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted 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 company had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.69 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.40%.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has approved 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 repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.