Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.13 EPS

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.27% and a return on equity of 38.40%. The firm's revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.45 earnings per share. Microsoft updated its Q4 2024 guidance to EPS.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of Microsoft stock traded up $7.28 during trading on Friday, hitting $406.32. 29,640,094 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 22,121,193. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.02 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.89. Microsoft has a 1-year low of $295.25 and a 1-year high of $430.82. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $414.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $387.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 27.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $421.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Macquarie increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $430.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $489.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $443.08.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total transaction of $18,530,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 574,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $236,414,839.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 574,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $236,414,839.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value of $1,341,414.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 570,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $231,823,855.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock worth $30,690,456. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.