Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Down 0.8% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) were down 0.8% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $405.88 and last traded at $407.43. Approximately 8,259,270 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 21,742,498 shares. The stock had previously closed at $410.54.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on MSFT. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $509.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.96.

Microsoft Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $429.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $423.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market cap of $3.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.73%.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.48, for a total transaction of $423,480.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 56,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,931,278.28. This trade represents a 1.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 34,000 shares of company stock valued at $14,333,540. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Voya Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Voya Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 22,062 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,373,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares during the period. Knightsbridge Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Knightsbridge Asset Management LLC now owns 10,791 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,548,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Capital Partners LLC now owns 55,960 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $23,587,000 after buying an additional 8,946 shares in the last quarter. Voyager Global Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 44.4% during the fourth quarter. Voyager Global Management LP now owns 650,000 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $273,975,000 after buying an additional 200,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 984,654 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $415,032,000 after acquiring an additional 156,673 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by 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.