Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Down 6.5% After Analyst Downgrade

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s stock price was down 6.5% during trading on Thursday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $525.00 to $510.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Microsoft traded as low as $413.94 and last traded at $413.69. Approximately 22,811,416 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 10% from the average daily volume of 20,782,309 shares. The stock had previously closed at $442.33.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $520.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday. Oppenheimer cut shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $509.72.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. This represents a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction of $414,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. This represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. First National Bank Sioux Falls raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the second quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 6,340 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,834,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. BCK Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.8% during the third quarter. BCK Partners Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $582,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,866,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 9,640 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,309,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the second quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 3,255 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,455,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $432.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $424.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.24, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.93 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

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.