Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Up 9.5% After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) shot up 9.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $436.99 and last traded at $432.70. 27,042,106 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 28% from the average session volume of 21,194,760 shares. The stock had previously closed at $395.26.

The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.94 EPS.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, TD Securities increased their price target on Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $507.77.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WFA Asset Management Corp raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,658,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 410.4% during the 3rd quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,144,000 after buying an additional 2,138 shares during the period. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 13,689,356 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,890,530,000 after buying an additional 49,288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,749 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,334,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Up 2.3 %

The company has a market capitalization of $3.24 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $384.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $411.12.

About Microsoft

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.