Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Down 0.3%

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s share price dropped 0.3% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $425.00 and last traded at $425.47. Approximately 4,081,540 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 20,450,770 shares. The stock had previously closed at $426.73.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Microsoft from $465.00 to $489.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $485.53.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.8 %

The firm has a market cap of $3.12 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $440.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $421.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 322 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.60, for a total value of $134,145.20. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,686,433. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total transaction of $10,642,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,674,690.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 322 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.60, for a total transaction of $134,145.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,255 shares in the company, valued at $19,686,433. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,566 shares of company stock valued at $10,877,535. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $35,920,047,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $9,625,201,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 664,908,939 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $250,032,357,000 after purchasing an additional 15,701,937 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 1st quarter worth approximately $5,587,119,000. Finally, TCI Fund Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,000,376,000. 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.