Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Down 1% - Here's What Happened

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) traded down 1% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $413.83 and last traded at $414.68. 5,110,332 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 16,010,039 shares. The stock had previously closed at $418.95.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Microsoft from $470.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $511.62.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.42, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $429.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $426.98.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The company had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $64.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.99 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft's payout ratio is 27.39%.

Microsoft announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,911,598. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total value of $1,118,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 49,352 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,080,578.32. This represents a 4.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its position in Microsoft by 169.2% during the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth approximately $45,000. Avondale Wealth Management boosted its position in Microsoft by 144.4% during the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Microsoft during the third quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth approximately $75,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.