Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading Down 1.4% on Insider Selling

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) traded down 1.4% on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $487.23 and last traded at $490.30. 16,325,575 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 54% from the average daily volume of 35,444,059 shares. The stock had previously closed at $497.12.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MSFT. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $510.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group set a $525.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $564.27.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Dividend raised 8%: Microsoft increased its quarterly dividend from $0.91 to $0.98 per share, signaling confidence in cash generation while it continues investing heavily in artificial intelligence. Microsoft announces quarterly dividend increase
• Positive Sentiment: Azure momentum remains a key support: Azure reportedly surpassed $100 billion in annual revenue, with agentic AI helping drive cloud-computing demand. Microsoft also plans to disclose Azure revenue more directly in quarterly results, giving investors greater visibility into AI monetization. Microsoft Azure revenue milestone
• Positive Sentiment: Enterprise AI adoption is expanding: Dun & Bradstreet is integrating its commercial data graph with Microsoft Copilot Studio and Dynamics 365 agents, potentially strengthening Microsoft’s position in business AI workflows. Dun and Bradstreet Microsoft Copilot integration
• Neutral Sentiment: Surface event scheduled: Microsoft will hold a Windows and Surface event on October 7. New hardware or on-device AI features could provide a product catalyst, but investors appear to be waiting for details. Microsoft October 7 Surface event
• Negative Sentiment: AI spending is raising return concerns: Microsoft is reportedly targeting roughly 38 gigawatts of data-center capacity by 2032, while capital spending is already elevated and expected to grow again. Investors are questioning how quickly those investments will translate into profits. Microsoft AI spending analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Government AI rollout may face execution risk: Federal agencies can begin contracting for Microsoft’s AI government tier on October 1, but some features may not be available immediately, potentially slowing adoption or creating customer skepticism. Microsoft government AI tier
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale adds 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 transaction limits its significance, but it may still weigh on sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: AI safety debate continues: Microsoft executives criticized aspects of Anthropic’s Claude training approach, highlighting potential risks around AI autonomy and consciousness. The comments support Microsoft’s safety positioning but could reinforce concerns about regulatory and commercialization challenges. Microsoft executive comments on Anthropic AI safety

Microsoft Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.64 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 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. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $460.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $420.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 20.27%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Microsoft by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,942,580 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $347,211,391,000 after purchasing an additional 15,955,898 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,338,370,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 64,375,360 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $24,013,297,000 after buying an additional 543,172 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,073,486,000 after buying an additional 60,009,531 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth approximately $18,306,443,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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. 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.