Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Down 2.3% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) dropped 2.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $475.20 and last traded at $478.5410. Approximately 33,500,425 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 51% from the average daily volume of 22,199,627 shares. The stock had previously closed at $490.00.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on MSFT. Citigroup raised their target price on Microsoft from $682.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Evercore ISI set a $640.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. DA Davidson set a $650.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $625.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $634.33.

Microsoft Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $509.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $501.08. The stock has a market cap of $3.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.04, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.48. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.71% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The company had revenue of $77.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.89%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $518.64, for a total value of $19,967,640.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 461,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $239,402,668.08. This trade represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Severin Investments LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 46.1% during the 3rd quarter. Severin Investments LLC now owns 4,000 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,072,000 after buying an additional 1,263 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.6% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 439,993 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $227,895,000 after acquiring an additional 11,017 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 5.9% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 107,733 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $55,824,000 after acquiring an additional 5,994 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 2,519,161 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,304,799,000 after acquiring an additional 131,369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Innova Wealth Partners boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Innova Wealth Partners now owns 6,072 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,145,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.