Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading Down 0.8% After Insider Selling

Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) fell 0.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $410.97 and last traded at $411.07. 3,163,008 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 20,549,049 shares. The stock had previously closed at $414.20.

Specifically, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 544,847 shares in the company, valued at $219,349,953.73. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 17,378 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.85, for a total transaction of $7,157,129.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 150,161 shares in the company, valued at $61,843,807.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total transaction of $1,027,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,552,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. New Street Research assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $570.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $494.72.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.9 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.17 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $424.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $423.09.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. The company’s revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.69 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 10,066 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,785,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in Microsoft by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,797,891 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,428,159,000 after buying an additional 49,526 shares during the last quarter. Mathes Company Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Mathes Company Inc. now owns 18,154 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,827,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 18,669 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $7,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 50,337 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $18,929,000 after purchasing an additional 1,533 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is 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.