Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading Down 0.2% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) traded down 0.2% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $376.62 and last traded at $381.59. 3,332,156 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 20,528,821 shares. The stock had previously closed at $382.19.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $520.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $508.86.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.3 %

The company has a market cap of $2.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $403.52 and its 200-day moving average is $418.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.93 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.73%.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% in the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Avondale Wealth Management raised its stake in Microsoft by 144.4% during the fourth quarter. Avondale Wealth Management now owns 110 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently 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.