Cantor Fitzgerald Expects Stronger Earnings for Microsoft

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) - Analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald increased their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Microsoft in a report released on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst T. Blakey now forecasts that the software giant will earn $13.36 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $13.19. Cantor Fitzgerald has a "Overweight" rating and a $512.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Microsoft's current full-year earnings is $13.08 per share.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.94 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on MSFT. Bank of America lowered their target price on Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $507.77.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT traded down $1.35 on Friday, reaching $434.82. The stock had a trading volume of 7,802,423 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,314,197. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $385.66 and a 200 day moving average of $411.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.23 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.01, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. Microsoft has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.66%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,866,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant's stock worth $443,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 1.3% during the third quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $853,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the third quarter. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,380,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverstone Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% in the third quarter. Riverstone Advisors LLC now owns 4,510 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,941,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

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.