Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Down 0.2% Following Insider Selling

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) was down 0.2% on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $410.25 and last traded at $412.67. Approximately 3,126,152 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 20,737,734 shares. The stock had previously closed at $413.49.

Specifically, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total transaction of $6,009,869.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Macquarie boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $460.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $494.72.

Microsoft Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.08 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.83, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $434.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $422.87.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $64.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.69 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,920,047,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 664,908,939 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $250,032,357,000 after acquiring an additional 15,701,937 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the first quarter valued at approximately $5,587,119,000. TCI Fund Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,000,376,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 277.8% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 7,004,341 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,633,912,000 after purchasing an additional 5,150,160 shares in the last quarter. 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.