Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Down 0.3% – Time to Sell?

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s share price fell 0.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $441.40 and last traded at $445.35. 3,996,859 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 18,593,768 shares. The stock had previously closed at $446.71.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $512.66.

Microsoft Price Performance

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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.30 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $431.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $425.82.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.99 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total value of $1,118,525.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 49,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,080,578.32. This trade represents a 4.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. This represents a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% in the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

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.