Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Down 1.6% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Microsoft's stock fell by 1.6%, trading as low as $524.89, with volume declining significantly from its average.
• Analysts have overwhelmingly rated the stock a "Moderate Buy", with target prices ranging from $490 to $650, reflecting strong confidence in the company’s future performance.
• The company reported earnings of $3.65 per share for the quarter, significantly exceeding expectations, along with an 18.1% year-over-year revenue growth.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 1.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $525.16 and last traded at $524.89. 9,499,639 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 57% from the average session volume of 22,302,398 shares. The stock had previously closed at $533.50.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. TD Securities upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $581.00 to $639.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $609.86.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.8%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a fifty day moving average of $488.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $434.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.04.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $76.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.79 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.49% and a net margin of 36.15%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.95 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.34%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.00, for a total value of $1,389,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,339,590. This represents a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total value of $2,599,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 471,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at $204,038,664.12. The trade was a 1.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 60,743 shares of company stock valued at $27,520,933 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Newton One Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% in the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Westend Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 386.7% in the second quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

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.

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