Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Down 1.8% – What’s Next?

Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) fell 1.8% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $389.39 and last traded at $393.82. Approximately 32,649,291 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 13% from the average daily volume of 37,486,785 shares. The stock had previously closed at $401.10.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is getting support from reports of strong Azure demand, with a CIO survey showing cloud demand at multi-year highs and some analysts reiterating bullish long-term views on the company’s AI and cloud growth. Microsoft (MSFT) Stock Surges on Strong Azure Demand in Latest CIO Survey
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s new partnership with 3M to use Expanded Beam Optical technology in Azure data centers could improve infrastructure efficiency and reinforce its AI buildout strategy. 3M (MMM) Teams Up With Microsoft As Its Undervalued Narrative Faces A Valuation Test
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street remains broadly constructive on Microsoft despite recent pullbacks, with analysts still pointing to AI leadership, Azure, Microsoft 365, and earnings power as key long-term drivers. Josh Baer Reiterates Buy on Microsoft, Citing AI Leadership, Azure/M365 Budget Tailwinds and Underappreciated Earnings Power

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $502.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, President Capital increased their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Forty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $557.96.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.8%

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $400.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $411.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.93 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.46 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.67%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Frankly Finances LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Company Profile

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).