Cantor Fitzgerald Expects Increased Earnings for Microsoft

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) – Equities research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald raised their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for Microsoft in a research report issued on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst T. Blakey now anticipates that the software giant will earn $13.19 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $12.92. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has a “Overweight” rating and a $509.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Microsoft’s current full-year earnings is $12.89 per share.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on MSFT. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $520.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.96.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $415.06 on Friday. Microsoft has a 52 week low of $385.58 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $432.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $424.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.42, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.38% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.93 EPS.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 103,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,792,039.56. This trade represents a 6.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total transaction of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 117,294 shares in the company, valued at $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,200 shares of company stock valued at $17,383,892 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Joel Adams & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $720,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 148,268 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $62,495,000 after purchasing an additional 2,349 shares during the period. Semus Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 12,075 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,090,000 after purchasing an additional 895 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors Asset Management LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 54.3% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Advisors Asset Management LLC now owns 1,049 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $442,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Timber Creek Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 39,541 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $16,667,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.