Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Trading 9.5% Higher After Strong Earnings

Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) traded up 9.5% during trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $436.99 and last traded at $432.70. 27,042,106 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 28% from the average session volume of 21,194,760 shares. The stock had previously closed at $395.26.

The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.94 earnings per share.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, TD Securities upped their target price on Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $507.77.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,967 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,515,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. grew its position in Microsoft by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. now owns 315,594 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $133,023,000 after buying an additional 18,052 shares in the last quarter. Centric Wealth Management grew its position in Microsoft by 0.7% during the third quarter. Centric Wealth Management now owns 16,156 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,789,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,140 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,274,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Microsoft by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,250,128 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,980,299,000 after acquiring an additional 217,509 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $384.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $411.12. The company has a market cap of $3.24 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.35.

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.