Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Down 1.6% on Insider Selling

by · The Markets Daily

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) shares were down 1.6% on Tuesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $495.54 and last traded at $497.12. 17,369,438 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 35,550,715 shares. The stock had previously closed at $505.41.

Specifically, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total transaction of $20,764,903.98. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, August 10th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, September 10th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Evercore set a $528.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $564.27.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on MSFT

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

  • Positive Sentiment: AI demand is supporting Azure and Copilot: Microsoft’s Azure growth reportedly reached 43% year over year, while the company says agentic AI is driving greater cloud consumption. Causaly’s scientific-research platform is now available within Microsoft Copilot and Microsoft Teams, expanding Copilot’s enterprise use cases in life sciences. Causaly is Now Available in Microsoft Copilot
  • Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is reinforcing its AI ecosystem: An expanded partnership with Nokia will use Microsoft Fabric and Nokia’s data tools to support autonomous telecom operations, including network optimization, predictive maintenance and VoNR assurance. The agreement strengthens Microsoft’s position as an infrastructure provider for industry-specific AI. Nokia accelerates network automation through agentic data foundation with Microsoft
  • Positive Sentiment: Dividend increase signals financial confidence: Microsoft raised its quarterly dividend 8% to $0.98 per share. The increase adds to the stock’s appeal while the company continues funding significant AI infrastructure spending. Microsoft announces quarterly dividend increase
  • Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor optimism remains supportive: Citizens JMP reiterated a “Market Outperform” rating. Recent commentary also points to Azure surpassing $100 billion in annual sales and continued confidence in Microsoft’s cloud, subscriptions and AI strategy.
  • Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is promoting an internal AI-transformation playbook and preparing for an October 7 Windows and Surface event. These initiatives could create product catalysts, but their financial impact is not yet clear. Microsoft Is Preaching AI Transformation, Starting With Itself
  • Negative Sentiment: Valuation and spending remain risks: Commentary warns Microsoft could be overvalued as capital expenditures and planned data-center capacity expand rapidly. Investors need evidence that AI infrastructure spending will translate into durable revenue and profit growth.
  • Negative Sentiment: Execution and governance concerns persist: Delayed features for Microsoft’s new government AI tier and public warnings from Microsoft AI chief Mustafa Suleyman about AI safety could raise questions about product readiness, regulation and commercialization.
  • Negative Sentiment: Insider selling creates a modest overhang: EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares worth approximately $20.8 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The scheduled nature of the sale limits its significance, but it may temper sentiment.

Microsoft Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $462.53 and a 200-day moving average of $421.53. The stock has a market cap of $3.68 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.57, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.61 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.27%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC now owns 697 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Box Hill Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Box Hill Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,272 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,593,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Partners in Financial Planning lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Partners in Financial Planning now owns 2,593 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,254,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. FWG Holdings LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. FWG Holdings LLC now owns 8,368 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,047,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 1.7% in the second quarter. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,473 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $549,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital solutions for consumers, businesses and public-sector organizations. Its products and services include the Windows operating system, Microsoft 365 productivity applications, Teams collaboration software, Dynamics business applications and Azure cloud computing services.

The company also operates LinkedIn, GitHub and Xbox, which includes gaming consoles, video games and related online services.

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