<div id="readability-page-1"><p>Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) insider Bradford Smith purchased 3,842 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $377.46 per share, with a total value of $1,450,201.32. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 455,439 shares in the company, valued at approximately $171,910,004.94. This represents a 0.85% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.</p><h2>Microsoft Stock Down 1.0%</h2><ul><li>Oracle Stock Hit Hard: Why Its AI Pipeline Could Drive a 2026 Rally</li></ul><p>Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded down $4.94 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $478.53. The stock had a trading volume of 21,163,354 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,240,586. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $504.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $501.85. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $555.45. The company has a market capitalization of $3.56 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.40. </p><p>Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $77.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.49 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.71% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share.  Analysts anticipate that  Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year. </p><h2>Microsoft Dividend Announcement</h2><ul><li>Walmart’s NASDAQ Switch Could Change Everything for WMT Stock</li></ul><p>The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio  is currently 25.89%. </p><h2>Wall Street Analyst Weigh In</h2><p>A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Baird R W raised Microsoft to a &#34;strong-buy&#34; rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald  set a $639.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wedbush  reiterated an &#34;outperform&#34; rating and set a $625.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus  set a $640.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Mizuho downgraded shares of Microsoft from a &#34;strong-buy&#34; rating to a &#34;hold&#34; rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have assigned  a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of &#34;Moderate Buy&#34; and a consensus price target of $632.34.</p><ul><li>Office Suite Gets Pricier: Microsoft’s Bold Move Comes With Risk</li></ul><p><b>Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on MSFT</b></p><h2>Institutional Inflows and Outflows</h2><p>Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of  Microsoft by 27.0% during the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period.  Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. increased its position in shares of  Microsoft by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant's stock worth $5,658,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter.  Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in  Microsoft by 410.4% during the 3rd quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,144,000 after purchasing an additional 2,138 shares during the last quarter.  Wealth Group Ltd. boosted its position in  Microsoft by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,374 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,000,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter.  Finally, Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its position in  Microsoft by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 23,097 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $9,735,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own  71.13% of the company's stock. </p><h2>About Microsoft</h2> (Get Free Report)<p>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.</p><h2>Read More</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than Microsoft</li><li>Stock Market Sectors: What Are They and How Many Are There? </li><li>Synopsys Sees Bullish Shift as Ansys Integration Drives Growth</li><li>What Are Earnings Reports?</li><li>The Best Holiday Present You Can Give Yourself? Costco Stock</li><li>Pros And Cons Of Monthly Dividend Stocks</li><li>Why Zscaler Stock Could Be Ready to Bounce After a 30% Selloff</li></ul><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/InsiderTradesChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5BU0RBUSZTeW1ib2w9TVNGVA?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="350" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/InsiderTradesChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5BU0RBUSZTeW1ib2w9TVNGVA"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in Microsoft Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider Microsoft, you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Microsoft wasn't on the list.</p><p>While Microsoft currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

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<p>Bradford Smith, an insider at Microsoft Corporation, purchased 3,842 shares of the company's stock at an average cost of $377.46 per share, totaling $1,450,201.32. This acquisition increased his ownership by 0.85%, bringing his total to 455,439 shares valued at approximately $171.91 million. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC.</p>

- Microsoft insider Bradford Smith purchased 3,842 shares at $377.46 each, totaling $1,450,201.32, increasing his ownership to 455,439 shares.  
- The company's stock recently traded down 1.0% to $478.53, with a market capitalization of $3.56 trillion and a P/E ratio of 34.03.  
- Microsoft reported $4.13 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, reflecting a 0.8% yield.

Bradford Smith Acquires 3,842 Shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock