Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Up 1.4% After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) traded up 1.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $438.50 and last traded at $437.93. 6,166,840 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 20,137,863 shares. The stock had previously closed at $431.95.

The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.08 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 35.73%. Microsoft’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.99 EPS.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 24.75%.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. DA Davidson lowered Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group lowered their target price on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $503.03.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,349,953.73. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total value of $1,027,600.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,552,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total value of $16,103,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 3.7% in the first quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC now owns 2,907 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,223,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 13,682 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,756,000 after buying an additional 779 shares during the period. Sunpointe LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Sunpointe LLC now owns 13,503 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,681,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 22.1% in the 1st quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 11,619 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,888,000 after purchasing an additional 2,104 shares during the period. Finally, Aletheian Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 60.0% during the 1st quarter. Aletheian Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,591 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,718,000 after purchasing an additional 5,097 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.2 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $420.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $424.58. The company has a market cap of $3.06 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

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.