Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading Down 1.5% – Should You Sell?

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFTGet Free Report) shares dropped 1.5% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $378.65 and last traded at $384.93. Approximately 26,918,446 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 28% from the average session volume of 37,483,867 shares. The stock had previously closed at $390.99.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. China Renaissance cut their target price on Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Argus decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Forty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $559.84.

View Our Latest Stock Report on Microsoft

Microsoft Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.86 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.91, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $401.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $413.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFTGet Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The business had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $81.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.46 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total transaction of $1,812,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares in the company, valued at $19,122,009.12. This represents a 8.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Taylor Securities Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,616,000. PMG Family Office LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the third quarter valued at approximately $828,000. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management grew its holdings in Microsoft by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 12,492 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,041,000 after buying an additional 1,698 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 2,332.1% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,746,017 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,262,509,000 after acquiring an additional 6,468,645 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors increased its stake in Microsoft by 22.1% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 272,424 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $131,750,000 after acquiring an additional 49,371 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft’s product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).

Further Reading

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