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

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 1% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $495.64 and last traded at $492.21. 4,161,587 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 21,593,571 shares. The stock had previously closed at $497.41.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Citigroup increased their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $430.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, TD Securities lifted their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $524.71.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.4%

The company has a market cap of $3.70 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $457.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $423.04.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.79% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.94 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's payout ratio is 25.66%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.77, for a total value of $9,756,055.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 134,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $61,208,127.76. The trade was a 13.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total value of $2,599,020.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 471,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. This represents a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 135,743 shares of company stock worth $60,224,683. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Newton One Investments LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 66.7% during the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.