Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Down 0.3% - Time to Sell?

Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) were down 0.3% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $441.40 and last traded at $445.35. Approximately 3,996,859 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 18,593,768 shares. The stock had previously closed at $446.71.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MSFT. Mizuho lifted their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, January 17th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $509.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer cut shares of Microsoft from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $497.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $512.66.

Microsoft Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company's fifty day moving average price is $430.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $425.69. The company has a market cap of $3.30 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.64, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The company's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.99 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at $48,911,598. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total value of $414,720.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. This represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 21,378 shares of the software giant's stock worth $9,011,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Flavin Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,708,000. Mokosak Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $228,000. Calamos Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 224,258 shares of the software giant's stock worth $94,525,000 after acquiring an additional 3,833 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patron Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 13,131 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $5,535,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.