Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading Down 0.4% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) fell 0.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $393.29 and last traded at $399.31. 5,898,898 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 22,702,395 shares. The stock had previously closed at $401.02.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $520.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $510.96.

Microsoft Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.93 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.79, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $417.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $422.24. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company earned $2.93 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total transaction of $1,118,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 49,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,080,578.32. This trade represents a 4.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its stake in Microsoft by 35.7% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

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.