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, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.39 per share on Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 15th. View Microsoft Corporation's Dividend History.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July, 20th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters' consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $24.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $24.29 billion. Microsoft Corporation had a return on equity of 33.75% and a net margin of 20.42%. Microsoft Corporation's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.69 EPS. View Microsoft Corporation's Earnings History.

35 analysts have issued 12-month price objectives for Microsoft Corporation's shares. Their forecasts range from $45.00 to $88.00. On average, they expect Microsoft Corporation's stock price to reach $71.76 in the next twelve months. View Analyst Ratings for Microsoft Corporation.

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

• 1. According to Zacks Investment Research, "Microsoft has outperformed the S&P 500 index on a year-to-date basis. We note that the company has positive record of earnings surprises in recent times. It is benefiting from continuing enterprise strength, strong Office 365 and Windows 10 adoption and robust penetration of Azure. The recently launched Azure Stack service that allows customers to use Azure, from their own servers, is anticipated to provide Microsoft a competitive edge over its peers.  We believe that the company's expanding product portfolio is a key catalyst in the long haul. Further, the addition of LinkedIn has improved the company's presence in the social media market. Additionally, the recent layoffs that focuses on making the sales organization more cloud-centric is positive, in our view. However, intensifying competition in the cloud space is a headwind." (7/12/2017)
• 2. 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)
• 3. 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)
• 4. 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 during the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 42,287,896 shares, an increase of 1.8% from the June 15th total of 43,070,558 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 26,181,763 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days. Currently, 0.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Some companies that are related to Microsoft Corporation include Red Hat (RHT), Citrix Systems (CTXS), Synopsys (SNPS), Cadence Design Systems (CDNS), Splunk (SPLK), Atlassian Corporation PLC (TEAM), SS&C Technologies Holdings (SSNC), The Ultimate Software Group (ULTI), Tyler Technologies (TYL), National Instruments Corporation (NATI), Micro Focus International plc (MCRO), Nuance Communications (NUAN), Nice Systems (NICE), Blackbaud (BLKB), Solera Holdings (SLH), Playtech PLC (PTEC), FireEye (FEYE) 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 institutional and retail investors. Top institutional shareholders include Fisher Asset Management LLC (0.21%), Swedbank (0.14%), Alecta Pensionsforsakring Omsesidigt (0.10%), Chevy Chase Trust Holdings Inc. (0.10%), NN Investment Partners Holdings N.V. (0.09%) and WELLCOME TRUST LTD THE as trustee of the WELLCOME TRUST (0.08%). 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 Fisher Asset Management LLC, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC, Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC, Focused Investors LLC, Swedbank, NN Investment Partners Holdings N.V., Rockefeller Financial Services Inc. and KAMES CAPITAL plc. 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, Satya Nadella 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 Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V., DnB Asset Management AS, Vontobel Asset Management Inc., Alecta Pensionsforsakring Omsesidigt, National Pension Service, Aperio Group LLC, ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd and Pennsylvania Trust Co. 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 $74.24.