Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Down 0.2% - Should You Sell?

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 0.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $411.20 and last traded at $411.96. 4,991,346 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 20,454,836 shares. The stock had previously closed at $412.87.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer lowered Microsoft from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. DA Davidson downgraded Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $475.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. TD Cowen decreased 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. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $470.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $503.03.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.4 %

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $422.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $426.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $3.08 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.91.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued 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 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 the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.99 earnings per share. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. 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, November 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.75%.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the software giant to purchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. The trade was a 8.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total value of $1,027,600.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 50,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,552,000. This trade represents a 4.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 183,431 shares of company stock worth $74,956,968 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,975,200 shares of the software giant's stock worth $882,816,000 after acquiring an additional 31,401 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA raised its position in Microsoft by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 96,021 shares of the software giant's stock worth $41,318,000 after purchasing an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. New Harbor Financial Group LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 55.9% in the 2nd quarter. New Harbor Financial Group LLC now owns 1,255 shares of the software giant's stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. now owns 430,730 shares of the software giant's stock worth $192,515,000 after purchasing an additional 8,290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Investment Management LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Investment Management LLC now owns 156,258 shares of the software giant's stock worth $69,840,000 after purchasing an additional 5,176 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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