Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Down 2.8% – Here’s What Happened

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) dropped 2.8% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $369.35 and last traded at $371.50. Approximately 9,742,797 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 53% from the average daily volume of 20,548,870 shares. The stock had previously closed at $382.14.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Westpark Capital started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Loop Capital raised their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $508.86.

Microsoft Trading Down 2.4 %

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $402.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $418.11. The company has a market capitalization of $2.77 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.93 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 26.73%.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% during the 4th 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. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 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.