Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Down 0%

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 0% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $404.37 and last traded at $409.27. 4,172,882 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 20,666,256 shares. The stock had previously closed at $409.44.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Microsoft from $520.00 to $506.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $494.72.

Microsoft Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $430.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $423.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market capitalization of $3.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.40, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.69 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at $328,473,703.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Gruss & Co. LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Gruss & Co. LLC now owns 5,000 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,880,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Blossom Wealth Management grew its position in Microsoft by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Blossom Wealth Management now owns 4,412 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,659,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Leeward Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Leeward Financial Partners LLC now owns 30,749 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $11,563,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 8,021 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $3,017,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hendershot Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Hendershot Investments Inc. now owns 56,336 shares of the software giant's stock worth $21,184,000 after purchasing an additional 947 shares during 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.