Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) – Wedbush cut their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Microsoft in a report issued on Wednesday, July 31st. Wedbush analyst D. Ives now forecasts that the software giant will post earnings of $3.10 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $3.17. Wedbush has a “Outperform” rating and a $550.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Microsoft’s current full-year earnings is $13.07 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Microsoft’s Q3 2025 earnings at $3.33 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $3.56 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $3.60 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $3.79 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $3.79 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $4.18 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $15.35 EPS.
Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. New Street Research initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $570.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Argus increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $487.33.
Microsoft Trading Down 0.3 %
NASDAQ MSFT opened at $417.11 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $440.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $421.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.24. Microsoft has a twelve month low of $309.45 and a twelve month high of $468.35. The stock has a market cap of $3.10 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.11, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.90.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. Microsoft had a return on equity of 37.13% and a net margin of 35.96%. The company had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.38 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.69 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft
Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Rebalance LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.7% in the second quarter. Rebalance LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,542,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls grew its position in Microsoft by 0.4% during the second quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 6,340 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,834,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Bixby & Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Johnson Bixby & Associates LLC now owns 6,481 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,727,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Morris Financial Concepts Inc. now owns 2,663 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Innova Wealth Partners raised its holdings in Microsoft by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Innova Wealth Partners now owns 4,239 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,594,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.
Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft
In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total value of $10,642,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,949 shares in the company, valued at $44,674,690.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.53, for a total transaction of $101,389.32. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 47,011 shares in the company, valued at $19,534,480.83. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.68, for a total transaction of $10,642,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 104,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,674,690.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 25,566 shares of company stock worth $10,877,535. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.97%.
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.
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