Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.13 EPS

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The software giant reported $2.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.13, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 company posted $2.45 earnings per share. Microsoft updated its Q4 2024 guidance to EPS.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock traded up $10.34 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $409.38. 20,308,636 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,997,238. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $414.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $387.17. Microsoft has a 12-month low of $295.25 and a 12-month high of $430.82. 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 market cap of $3.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.89.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $421.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $471.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $442.57.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total value of $18,530,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 574,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $236,414,839.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 570,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $231,823,855.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total transaction of $18,530,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 574,129 shares in the company, valued at $236,414,839.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,070,258 shares of company stock worth $30,690,456. Company insiders own 0.03% 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.