Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) fell 3.6% on Thursday. The stock traded as low as $532.68 and last traded at $535.93. Approximately 41,511,821 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 24% from the average session volume of 33,513,797 shares. The stock had previously closed at $555.80.
Key Microsoft News
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Demand for Microsoft’s lucrative cloud and AI capacity continues to exceed supply, supporting the longer-term growth outlook while Azure capacity catches up. Why Is Everyone Talking About Microsoft Stock?
- Negative Sentiment: Microsoft reportedly declined a multibillion-dollar option to expand its Texas data-center lease with Nscale. The decision, amid construction delays and a reported AI-spending shortfall, has prompted concern that Microsoft may be scaling back or tightening control over infrastructure commitments. Microsoft rejects multibillion-dollar AI deal with UK’s Nscale, FT reports
- Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is reportedly increasing oversight of “neocloud” data-center projects after delays disrupted expansion plans. A slower buildout could postpone the capacity needed to convert strong AI demand into cloud revenue, while raising execution risks for its infrastructure strategy. Microsoft tightens oversight of neocloud data center projects, Bloomberg News reports
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several research firms have recently issued reports on MSFT. Barclays upped their price target on Microsoft from $600.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Argus reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, October 12th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-five have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $609.54.
Microsoft Stock Performance
The company has a market cap of $3.98 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $515.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $439.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.72 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $92.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.28% and a net margin of 41.17%. Microsoft’s revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.13 EPS. Analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.
Microsoft Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 19.00%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at $265,888,830.48. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 135,504 shares of company stock worth $68,138,024. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Trading of Microsoft
Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 315,653,206 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $117,744,959,000 after buying an additional 8,944,917 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,338,370,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 64,375,360 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $24,013,297,000 after acquiring an additional 543,172 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth $18,306,443,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 12.0% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 46,694,778 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $17,418,076,000 after purchasing an additional 5,019,702 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft Company Profile
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital platforms. Its products and services are used by consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.
The company’s principal offerings include the Windows operating system; Microsoft 365 productivity applications such as Word, Excel, Teams and Outlook; Azure cloud computing and infrastructure services; Dynamics business applications; and enterprise security solutions.
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