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

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

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock traded down $4.37 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $418.55. 10,087,645 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,552,170. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $440.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $421.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.11 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.89. Microsoft has a one year low of $309.45 and a one year high of $468.35. 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 17th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $485.39.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 322 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $416.60, for a total value of $134,145.20. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,255 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,686,433. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was 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 directly owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,674,690.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 322 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $416.60, for a total value of $134,145.20. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 47,255 shares in the company, valued at $19,686,433. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders 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 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying 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 quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

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.