Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Down 6.5% on Analyst Downgrade

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) shares traded down 6.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Mizuho lowered their price target on the stock from $510.00 to $500.00. Mizuho currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Microsoft traded as low as $413.94 and last traded at $413.69. 22,811,416 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 10% from the average session volume of 20,782,309 shares. The stock had previously closed at $442.33.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $509.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. 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. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $511.97.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. This represents a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 49,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,080,578.32. This represents a 4.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. First National Bank Sioux Falls boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. BCK Partners Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $582,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,866,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Massachusetts Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 9,640 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,309,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators increased its stake in Microsoft by 0.8% in the second quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 3,255 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,455,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 6.4 %

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $432.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $424.95. The company has a market cap of $3.08 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.13, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.93 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.9 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

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.