Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.43% and a return on equity of 37.54%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.69 earnings per share. Microsoft updated its Q1 2025 guidance to EPS.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT traded down $4.95 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $417.97. 15,607,844 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,607,984. The company has a market cap of $3.11 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.89. Microsoft has a 12-month low of $309.45 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $440.44 and a 200 day moving average of $421.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total transaction of $101,389.32. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,011 shares in the company, valued at $19,534,480.83. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total transaction of $10,642,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 104,949 shares in the company, valued at $44,674,690.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total transaction of $101,389.32. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,534,480.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 25,566 shares of company stock worth $10,877,535. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Microsoft stock. WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 27.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. WFA Asset Management Corp’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $427,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on MSFT shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday. Macquarie boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $460.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Argus boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $485.39.

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.