Microsoft Corporation Company Profile (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Microsoft Corporation trades on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol "MSFT."

Microsoft Corporation declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 16th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share on Thursday, December 14th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 15th. This is a boost from Microsoft Corporation's previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. View Microsoft Corporation's Dividend History.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July, 20th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $24.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $24.29 billion. Microsoft Corporation had a net margin of 23.57% and a return on equity of 36.81%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.69 earnings per share. View Microsoft Corporation's Earnings History.

Microsoft Corporation is scheduled to release their next quarterly earnings announcement on Thursday, October, 26th 2017. View Earnings Estimates for Microsoft Corporation.

36 equities research analysts have issued 12 month price targets for Microsoft Corporation's stock. Their forecasts range from $49.00 to $90.00. On average, they anticipate Microsoft Corporation's stock price to reach $77.09 in the next twelve months. View Analyst Ratings for Microsoft Corporation.

Here are some recent quotes from research analysts about Microsoft Corporation stock:

• 1. KeyCorp analysts commented, "We have rebuilt our detailed segment model drivers for Microsoft, incorporating new ASC 606 reclassifications that have no impact on cash flow, higher Azure revenue growth assumptions, and new device product cycle benefits (Xbox One, Surface Laptop, etc.)." (9/10/2017)
• 2. According to Zacks Investment Research, "Microsoft reported strong fourth-quarter fiscal 2017 results. Both earnings and revenues increased on a year-over-year basis. The impressive results demonstrated that the company is benefiting from continuing enterprise strength, strong Office 365 and Windows 10 adoption and robust penetration of Azure. We also note that LinkedIn has improved the company's presence in the social media market, which improved top-line growth. Management expects expenses to increase in fiscal 2018 due to continuing investments. This will weigh on profitability in the near term. Nevertheless, we believe that the company's expanding product portfolio is a key catalyst in the long haul. However, intensifying competition in the cloud space and unfavorable foreign exchange are headwinds." (7/24/2017)
• 3. Pacific Crest analysts commented, "We are raising our FCF estimates slightly and raising our target to $78 from $70 as we roll forward to calendar 2018. Reiterate Overweight on MSFT. Microsoft cloud was surprisingly strong; growth accelerated to 52%. The commercial cloud annualized run-rate increased 52% y/y to $15.2 billion in the quarter, exceeding our estimate by nearly $1 billion. Azure grew 93% y/y, maintaining the robust growth seen last quarter despite a larger revenue base. Premium services, which more than 80% of Azure customers adopt, drove the top-line performance and a ~300 basis point uptick in the cloud margin to 51%. Surface shortfall should not distract from stellar cloud momentum. Ultimately, Microsoft’s next three to five years will mostly be driven by its success in commercial cloud, which now represents 16% of sales, up from 5% in early 2015. While management underestimated the impact of Surface end-of-life and competitive pricing discounting that resulted in a revenue miss, we think the strong and broad-based adoption of Office 365, Azure, Dynamics 365 and LinkedIn cloud assets should trump any near-term concerns on Surface. Overweight MSFT on multiple upside levers; raising target to $78. We believe MSFT remains one of the marquee cloud stocks to own based on multiple upside levers to the model, including: (1) commercial cloud momentum across Azure, Azure Stack, Office 365, and Dynamics 365, (2) new product cycles, (3) Win10 commercial adoption, and (4) improving free cash flow margin." (4/28/2017)
• 4. Jefferies Group LLC analysts commented, "Microsoft's modus operandi is intact as it exceeded estimates established by its lowered guidance, only to report results that were about in line with previous consensus numbers. Also true to form, its guidance for next quarter was lower than consensus expectations adjusting for LinkedIn. Regardless, the results were stable with 1% revenue growth, though operating cash flow grew 12% with several asterisks." (1/27/2017)
• 5. BGC Financial analysts commented, "Share of Microsoft are trading near a lifetime high of $64.10 reached on 12/22/16 as the company prepares to report its December quarter results post-market on Thursday January 26th. Investors are warming up to the growth in the more valuable assets embedded inside Microsoft including its Intelligent Cloud segment that has a revenue run rate exceeding $13 billion, its data center footprint that spans 38 geographic regions, and a focus on layering artificial intelligence across its products. That said, these more desirable elements are still buried in a company that is producing low-single digit revenue growth and is underperforming in its consumer segments in our opinion. The December quarter result is particularly sensitive to consumer demand given the historical pattern of PCs and game consoles being a desired holiday gift." (1/25/2017)

Microsoft Corporation saw a increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 46,596,922 shares, an increase of 18.2% from the August 15th total of 39,423,390 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 17,228,579 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days. Currently, 0.6% of the company's shares are short sold.

Some companies that are related to Microsoft Corporation include Red Hat (RHT), Synopsys (SNPS), Citrix Systems (CTXS), Cadence Design Systems (CDNS), Splunk (SPLK), Atlassian Corporation PLC (TEAM), SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC), Tyler Technologies (TYL), The Ultimate Software Group (ULTI), National Instruments Corporation (NATI), Micro Focus International plc (MCRO), Nuance Communications (NUAN), Blackbaud (BLKB), Solera Holdings (SLH), FireEye (FEYE), Playtech PLC (PTEC), Okta (OKTA) and CommVault Systems (CVLT).

Microsoft Corporation's management team includes the folowing people:

• John Wendell Thompson, Independent Chairman of the Board
• Bradford Lee Smith, President, Chief Legal Officer
• Satya Nadella, Chief Executive Officer, Director
• William Henry Gates III, Founder and Technology Advisor, Director
• Amy E. Hood, Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice President
• Christopher C. Capossela, Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer
• Kathleen T. Hogan, Executive Vice President - Human Resources
• Jean-Philippe Courtois, Executive Vice President and President - Microsoft Global Sales, Marketing and Operations
• Margaret L. Johnson, Executive Vice President - Business Development
• Kevin Scott, Chief Technology Officer

Microsoft Corporation's stock is owned by many different of retail and institutional investors. Top institutional investors include Vanguard Group Inc. (7.32%), Capital World Investors (9.83%), State Street Corp (9.04%), FMR LLC (2.25%), Bank of New York Mellon Corp (1.49%) and Northern Trust Corp (1.18%). Company insiders that own Microsoft Corporation stock include Amy Hood, Brian Kevin Turner, Christopher C Capossela, Frank H Brod, G Mason Morfit, Jean Philippe Courtois, Kathleen T Hogan, Satya Nadella and William H Gates III. View Institutional Ownership Trends for Microsoft Corporation.

Microsoft Corporation's stock was sold by a variety of institutional investors in the last quarter, including State Street Corp, Franklin Resources Inc., Bank of New York Mellon Corp, ValueAct Holdings L.P., Karp Capital Management Corp, TIAA CREF Investment Management LLC, Capital World Investors and American Century Companies Inc.. Company insiders that have sold Microsoft Corporation stock in the last year include Amy Hood, Christopher C Capossela, Frank H Brod, G Mason Morfit, Jean Philippe Courtois and William H Gates III. View Insider Buying and Selling for Microsoft Corporation.

Microsoft Corporation's stock was acquired by a variety of institutional investors in the last quarter, including Capital Research Global Investors, Janus Henderson Group PLC, Vanguard Group Inc., Tiger Global Management LLC, Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. and CI Global Investments Inc.. View Insider Buying and Selling for Microsoft Corporation.

Shares of Microsoft Corporation can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages include Vanguard Brokerage Services, TD Ameritrade, E*TRADE, Scottrade, Fidelity and Charles Schwab.

One share of Microsoft Corporation stock can currently be purchased for approximately $74.41.