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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. StockNews.com raised Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $510.96.

Microsoft Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.03 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $425.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $422.88.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the firm earned $2.93 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 26.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $430.87, for a total value of $1,077,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 53,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,203,211.24. This trade represents a 4.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 8,000 shares of company stock worth $3,493,820. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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