Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Down 1% – Should You Sell?

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s stock price dropped 1% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $440.40 and last traded at $442.74. Approximately 4,428,312 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 19,681,592 shares. The stock had previously closed at $447.20.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $520.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.72.

Microsoft Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.11 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $432.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $424.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 34.38%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.89 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 26.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at $43,792,039.56. This trade represents a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. WFA Asset Management Corp increased its position in Microsoft by 27.0% during the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,658,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Nicholas Investment Partners LP raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nicholas Investment Partners LP now owns 39,743 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $17,763,000 after buying an additional 1,164 shares in the last quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd. raised its position in Microsoft by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd. now owns 10,860 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,854,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the second quarter. Wealth Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 12,379 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,533,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. 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.