Microsoft (MSFT) to Release Earnings on Wednesday

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) will issue its quarterly earnings data after the market closes on Wednesday, October 30th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $3.08 per share for the quarter. Microsoft has set its Q1 2025 guidance at EPS.Parties interested in listening to the company's conference call can do so using this link.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.69 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect Microsoft to post $13 EPS for the current fiscal year and $15 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock traded down $2.91 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $424.60. The company had a trading volume of 19,185,555 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,289,311. The company has a market capitalization of $3.16 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $420.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $424.56. Microsoft has a 1-year low of $326.94 and a 1-year high of $468.35. 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 Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors 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 yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft's payout ratio is 28.74%.

Microsoft declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $506.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $520.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, October 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $495.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at $353,189,942.01. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 544,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Microsoft stock. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. increased its holdings in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,658 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 1.7% of Ironwood Wealth Management LLC.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $5,658,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.