Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading Down 0.3% – Here’s What Happened

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) traded down 0.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $385.93 and last traded at $387.40. 3,667,559 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 22,940,506 shares. The stock had previously closed at $388.56.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $520.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.43.

Microsoft Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $412.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $420.64. The company has a market cap of $2.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.27, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $2.93 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 26.73%.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its holdings 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 during the period. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 53.8% in the fourth 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 stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.