Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Down 1% - What's Next?

Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) traded down 1% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $413.83 and last traded at $414.68. 5,110,332 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 16,010,039 shares. The stock had previously closed at $418.95.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $511.62.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.4 %

The company has a market cap of $3.09 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.30, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. The firm's 50 day moving average is $429.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $426.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.99 EPS. The business's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 27.39%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 49,352 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,080,578.32. The trade was a 4.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its holdings in Microsoft by 169.2% in the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. IFS Advisors LLC boosted its position 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. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. Avondale Wealth Management raised its stake in Microsoft by 144.4% during the 4th quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft in the third quarter worth approximately $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.