Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Down 1.2% – Time to Sell?

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) dropped 1.2% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $397.69 and last traded at $399.23. Approximately 8,128,913 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 22,204,635 shares. The stock had previously closed at $404.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $470.00 to $465.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.96.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.2 %

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $424.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $423.08. The firm has a market cap of $2.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid 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 0.83%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $430.87, for a total value of $1,077,175.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 53,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,203,211.24. This represents a 4.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 8,000 shares of company stock worth $3,493,820 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 27.0% during the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,658,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Nicholas Investment Partners LP raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nicholas Investment Partners LP now owns 39,743 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $17,763,000 after purchasing an additional 1,164 shares during the period. Biltmore Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC now owns 32,381 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $14,473,000 after purchasing an additional 2,824 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenwood Gearhart Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. now owns 95,094 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,502,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.