Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Down 2.1% – Here’s What Happened

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s share price dropped 2.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $416.66 and last traded at $417.74. Approximately 7,882,910 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 20,428,129 shares. The stock had previously closed at $426.89.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $503.03.

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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $422.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $425.44. The company has a market capitalization of $3.08 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.35, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.91.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The company had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.99 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.39%.

Microsoft declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that allows the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at $43,792,039.56. This trade represents a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at $219,349,953.73. This represents a 6.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 197,829 shares of company stock worth $80,966,837 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Miller Investment Management LP boosted its stake in Microsoft by 56.7% during the third quarter. Miller Investment Management LP now owns 33,764 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $14,529,000 after acquiring an additional 12,214 shares in the last quarter. Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% during the third quarter. Mission Creek Capital Partners Inc. now owns 35,855 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $15,428,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 42.5% during the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 67,459 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,028,000 after purchasing an additional 20,116 shares during the last quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 22.6% in the 3rd quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 227,715 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $95,797,000 after buying an additional 42,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 28.2% during the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 138,242 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $59,245,000 after buying an additional 30,380 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.