Bradford L. Smith Sells 6,000 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 471,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. This represents a 1.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of MSFT stock traded up $0.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $438.73. 15,313,766 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,454,441. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company's 50-day moving average price is $389.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $411.63. The company has a market cap of $3.26 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The business had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.94 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's payout ratio is 25.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Westpark Capital reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, TD Securities upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $507.77.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,866,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant's stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC now owns 704 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $853,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the third quarter. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.