Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Down 1.4% Following Insider Selling

Key Points

• Microsoft shares fell 1.4% after insider selling, with the stock trading as low as $416.49 and closing near $417.42 on lower-than-average volume.
• EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares at an average price of $411.34, a transaction worth about $519,111 that reduced her ownership by 2.67%.
• Despite the dip, analysts remain broadly positive: Microsoft has 39 Buy ratings and 7 Hold ratings, with a consensus Moderate Buy and average target price of $560.88.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 1.4% on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $416.49 and last traded at $417.42. 31,616,244 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 11% from the average session volume of 35,534,016 shares. The stock had previously closed at $423.54.

Specifically, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price target on Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. HSBC cut their price target on Microsoft from $593.00 to $571.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. President Capital raised their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Thirty-nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $560.88.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Elon Musk’s lawsuit loss against OpenAI removed a major legal overhang tied to Microsoft’s AI partner ecosystem, which investors viewed as supportive for MSFT’s long-term AI strategy. Musk loses blockbuster OpenAI suit as jury says too late
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft also unveiled new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop for Business models powered by Intel Core Ultra chips, reinforcing its push into enterprise AI hardware and productivity devices. Microsoft launches Surface Pro 12 and Surface Laptop 8 with Intel chips
• Positive Sentiment: Several investors and analysts continue to argue Microsoft remains a strong AI beneficiary, pointing to Azure growth, Copilot adoption, and the company’s scale in enterprise software. Microsoft Rides on Enterprise AI Advancements: More Upside Ahead?

Microsoft Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $398.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $439.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market capitalization of $3.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.85, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The company had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $81.44 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.46 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 287.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft's product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).

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