Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.48 EPS

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.48, Zacks reports. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%.

Microsoft Stock Performance

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Microsoft stock traded down $0.52 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $541.55. 31,455,439 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,683,482. The firm has a market cap of $4.03 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.70, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $512.46 and a 200 day moving average of $484.58. Microsoft has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $555.45.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Westpark Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $680.00 to $682.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Mizuho set a $640.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $625.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $626.58.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on MSFT

Insider Buying and Selling

• Microsoft AI Joins Congress as Lawmakers Sell Stock

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total value of $2,557,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. This represents a 11.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $504.78, for a total value of $75,315,699.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 790,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at $399,206,272.56. This represents a 15.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $157,000. Bare Financial Services Inc raised its position in Microsoft by 52.5% in the second quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 331 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $165,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the first quarter valued at approximately $113,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 15.8% in the first quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 323 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Atlantic Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 5.4% in the first quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 509 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $191,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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