Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Down 0.4% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) were down 0.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $412.27 and last traded at $414.32. Approximately 6,624,768 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 21,887,340 shares. The stock had previously closed at $416.13.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $510.96.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.3 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.03, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $425.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $422.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft 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 completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold a total of 8,000 shares of company stock worth $3,493,820 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 35.7% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. IFS Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.