Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Down 0.3% – Time to Sell?

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) fell 0.3% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $441.40 and last traded at $445.35. 3,996,859 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 18,593,768 shares. The stock had previously closed at $446.71.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MSFT shares. StockNews.com upgraded Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $509.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $512.66.

Microsoft Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market capitalization of $3.31 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.69, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $430.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $425.69.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.99 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total value of $1,118,525.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 49,352 shares in the company, valued at $22,080,578.32. The trade was a 4.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. First National Bank Sioux Falls raised its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 6,340 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,834,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. BCK Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.8% during the third quarter. BCK Partners Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $582,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Massachusetts Wealth Management lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 9,640 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,309,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its stake in Microsoft by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 3,255 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,455,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Conscious Wealth Investments LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Conscious Wealth Investments LLC now owns 6,986 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,108,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in 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.