Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Up 2.5% Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) traded up 2.5% during trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $413.00 and last traded at $408.85. 14,355,746 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 34% from the average session volume of 21,911,654 shares. The stock had previously closed at $399.04.

The software giant reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $61.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.27% and a return on equity of 38.40%. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.45 earnings per share.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Microsoft from $465.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $455.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $460.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, March 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $441.80.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total value of $8,868,941.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,538,265.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $406.12, for a total value of $1,341,414.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 570,826 shares in the company, valued at $231,823,855.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 21,955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $403.96, for a total transaction of $8,868,941.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 159,764 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,538,265.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock worth $30,690,456. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. now owns 2,663 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Innova Wealth Partners raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Innova Wealth Partners now owns 4,239 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,594,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Arkansas Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,719 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $646,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the first quarter. Partnership Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,202 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,609,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Bixby & Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the first quarter. Johnson Bixby & Associates LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,727,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $414.44 and a 200-day moving average of $387.17. The firm has a market cap of $3.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.89.

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.