Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading Down 0.2% – Should You Sell?

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s share price traded down 0.2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $392.18 and last traded at $394.32. 4,015,242 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 19,257,970 shares. The stock had previously closed at $395.16.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on MSFT. StockNews.com lowered Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 target price for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.59.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.7 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $407.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $419.53. 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 $2.92 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.61, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 prior year, the firm earned $2.93 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.73%.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. IFS Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.