Q4 2024 EPS Estimates for Microsoft Co. Raised by Analyst (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) – Equities research analysts at Griffin Securities increased their Q4 2024 earnings estimates for Microsoft in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, April 26th. Griffin Securities analyst J. Vleeschhouwer now anticipates that the software giant will earn $2.90 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $2.80. The consensus estimate for Microsoft’s current full-year earnings is $11.71 per share. Griffin Securities also issued estimates for Microsoft’s Q1 2025 earnings at $3.11 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $3.29 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $3.22 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $3.36 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $12.99 EPS.

MSFT has been the subject of several other reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Microsoft from $415.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $465.00 to $489.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $440.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Macquarie upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $430.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $452.61.

Microsoft Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of MSFT opened at $389.33 on Monday. Microsoft has a 12-month low of $303.40 and a 12-month high of $430.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $414.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $389.44.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The software giant reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $61.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.86 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 37.54% and a net margin of 36.43%. The business’s revenue was up 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.45 EPS.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,920,047,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,625,201,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 664,908,939 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $250,032,357,000 after buying an additional 15,701,937 shares during the period. TCI Fund Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $4,000,376,000. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 215,874,152 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $68,162,263,000 after buying an additional 5,762,902 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 574,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $236,414,839.62. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 3,303 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 570,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $231,823,855.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.78, for a total transaction of $18,530,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 574,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $236,414,839.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,070,258 shares of company stock valued at $30,690,456 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.97%.

About Microsoft

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.