Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Down 0.7%

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s share price dropped 0.7% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $441.27 and last traded at $443.14. Approximately 5,520,249 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 20,800,229 shares. The stock had previously closed at $446.34.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, May 24th. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $490.00 price objective for the company. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $489.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $467.12.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.9 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.34 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $419.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $406.93.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The company had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total value of $10,642,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 104,949 shares in the company, valued at $44,674,690.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total value of $10,642,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,674,690.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total transaction of $101,389.32. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,534,480.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 25,566 shares of company stock worth $10,877,535. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 1,290.0% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Bellevue Group AG increased 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 buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 188 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.