Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Up 2.5% on Earnings Beat

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s share price rose 2.5% during trading on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $413.00 and last traded at $408.85. Approximately 14,355,746 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 34% from the average daily volume of 21,911,654 shares. The stock had previously closed at $399.04.

The software giant reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a return on equity of 38.87% and a net margin of 36.43%. The company had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.86 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.45 earnings per share. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Microsoft from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $452.61.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total value of $18,530,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 574,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,414,839.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total transaction of $1,341,414.36. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 570,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $231,823,855.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total value of $18,530,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 574,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $236,414,839.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,070,258 shares of company stock valued at $30,690,456 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,103 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,453,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Caliber Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Caliber Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,888 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,806,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the period. Sage Financial Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $504,000. RVW Wealth LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. RVW Wealth LLC now owns 6,128 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,935,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, Carmel Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its position in Microsoft by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter. Carmel Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 2,544 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $803,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.8 %

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $414.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $388.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.22. The company has a market capitalization of $3.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.18, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.89.

Microsoft Company Profile

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.