Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Up 2.5% Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s stock price was up 2.5% during mid-day 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.27% and a return on equity of 38.40%. The firm had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Macquarie raised their price target on Microsoft from $430.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $465.00 target price (up previously from $455.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $455.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $471.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $452.61.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total value of $1,950,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,677,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,770,926.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Corp Microsoft sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.95, for a total value of $1,950,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,677,398 shares in the company, valued at $22,770,926.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now owns 570,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $231,823,855.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock worth $30,690,456. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,920,047,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $9,625,201,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 664,908,939 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $250,032,357,000 after purchasing an additional 15,701,937 shares in the last quarter. TCI Fund Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $4,000,376,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 215,874,152 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $68,162,263,000 after buying an additional 5,762,902 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.8 %

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $414.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $387.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market capitalization of $3.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.74, a PEG ratio of 2.22 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.