Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Down 2.2% After Insider Selling

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s share price dropped 2.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $526.37 and last traded at $533.16. 25,858,658 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 23% from the average session volume of 33,431,668 shares. The stock had previously closed at $545.18.

Specifically, EVP Amy Hood sold 7,305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $544.37, for a total value of $3,976,622.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 548,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $298,364,297.67. This trade represents a 1.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on MSFT. Evercore upgraded shares of Microsoft from an “underperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Mizuho raised their target price on Microsoft from $510.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 price objective on Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $570.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $609.54.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Investors following MSFT have been watching these headlines:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s upcoming Ignite conference is bringing renewed attention to expected Azure and Copilot developments, supporting the AI-growth narrative. The stock also briefly surpassed Nvidia in market value as Nvidia shares fell, though that relative ranking reflected weakness in Nvidia as well as strength in Microsoft. Microsoft stock rises as Ignite conference puts AI growth narrative in focus
• Neutral Sentiment: A major outage affected Outlook, Microsoft 365 and other services, but Microsoft shares rose despite the disruption. The immediate market reaction suggests the incident did not overshadow the AI and cloud outlook. Microsoft Stock Climbs Despite a Major Service Outage
• Negative Sentiment: Anthropic’s new workplace tools, including spreadsheet software, pose a potential competitive challenge to Microsoft 365. Investors may watch whether these products gain traction against established Office applications. Anthropic Now Makes Its Own Spreadsheet Software

Microsoft Trading Up 0.4%

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $518.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $441.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market cap of $3.88 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.05.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $0.17. Microsoft had a net margin of 41.17% and a return on equity of 31.28%. The firm had revenue of $92.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.13 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.91 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 20.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 192,445 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $98,705,000 after buying an additional 23,310 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in Microsoft by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 495,538 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $254,238,000 after purchasing an additional 21,011 shares during the period. Winslow Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 45.8% during the 3rd quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC now owns 3,347,292 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,716,826,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052,065 shares during the period. DiPaolo Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. DiPaolo Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,429 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $733,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas boosted its stake in Microsoft by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 475,084 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $243,123,000 after purchasing an additional 1,221 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices, and digital solutions for consumers, businesses, and public-sector organizations. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, the company is headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Its products and services include the Windows operating system, Microsoft 365 productivity applications, Azure cloud computing, LinkedIn, GitHub, Surface devices, and Xbox gaming products and services. Microsoft also provides business software, cybersecurity tools, and artificial intelligence technologies.