Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Down 0.2% After Insider Selling

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

Specifically, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at $328,473,703.53. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Argus upped their price target 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. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $494.72.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.2 %

The firm has a market cap of $3.07 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.73, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $434.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $422.87.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.05. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The firm had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $64.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.69 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rebalance LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.7% in the second quarter. Rebalance LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,542,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.4% during the second quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 6,340 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,834,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. now owns 2,663 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Innova Wealth Partners raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Innova Wealth Partners now owns 4,239 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,594,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Arkansas Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,719 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $646,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

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.