Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.05 EPS

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 37.13%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.69 earnings per share. Microsoft updated its Q1 2025 guidance to EPS.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Microsoft stock traded down $1.24 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $417.11. The company had a trading volume of 30,229,860 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,864,311. The company’s 50-day moving average is $440.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $421.43. Microsoft has a twelve month low of $309.45 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The company has a market cap of $3.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.89.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Macquarie raised their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $489.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $487.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total value of $101,389.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,534,480.83. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total value of $101,389.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,534,480.83. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,674,690.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 25,566 shares of company stock worth $10,877,535. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Microsoft stock. WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 27.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing 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 quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $427,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Microsoft

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.