<div id="readability-page-1"><p>Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.48, Zacks reports. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%.</p><h2>Microsoft Stock Performance</h2><ul><li>Investors Boost American Electric Power on AI Growth</li></ul><p>Microsoft stock traded down $0.52 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $541.55. 31,455,439 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,683,482. The firm has a market cap of $4.03 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.70, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $512.46 and a 200 day moving average of $484.58. Microsoft has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $555.45. </p><h2>Microsoft Increases Dividend</h2><p>The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.34%. </p><h2>Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades</h2><ul><li>Forget AI: Amazon's Robots Could Be Coming for Your Job</li></ul><p>MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Westpark Capital  restated a &#34;hold&#34; rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $680.00 to $682.00 and gave the company a &#34;buy&#34; rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Mizuho  set a $640.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays  reiterated an &#34;overweight&#34; rating and issued a $625.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $490.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an &#34;outperform&#34; rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. One equities research analyst  has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued  a Buy rating and one  has issued  a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft  has a consensus rating of &#34;Buy&#34; and a consensus target price of $626.58.</p><p><b>Check Out Our Latest Analysis on MSFT</b></p><h2>Insider Buying and Selling</h2><ul><li>Microsoft AI Joins Congress as Lawmakers Sell Stock</li></ul><p>In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total value of $2,557,502.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. This represents a 11.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities &amp; Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $504.78, for a total value of $75,315,699.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 790,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at $399,206,272.56. This represents a 15.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. </p><h2>Institutional Inflows and Outflows</h2><p>Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Sagard Holdings Management Inc. acquired a new position in  Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $157,000.  Bare Financial Services Inc raised its position in  Microsoft by 52.5% in the second quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 331 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $165,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period.  Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in  Microsoft in the first quarter valued at approximately $113,000.  Strengthening Families &amp; Communities LLC raised its position in  Microsoft by 15.8% in the first quarter. Strengthening Families &amp; Communities LLC now owns 323 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period.  Finally, Atlantic Private Wealth LLC raised its position in  Microsoft by 5.4% in the first quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC now owns 509 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $191,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. </p><h2>Microsoft Company Profile</h2> (Get Free Report)<p>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.</p><h2>Further Reading</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than Microsoft</li><li>What is the NASDAQ Stock Exchange?</li><li>Tesla Stock: The Bulls Are Winning…For Now</li><li>3 Home Improvement Stocks that Can Upgrade Your Portfolio</li><li>This Mega-Cap Stock Has the Lowest RSI—and the Most Upside</li><li>Investing In Preferred Stock vs. Common Stock</li><li>3 Signals Pointing to a Turnaround for Albemarle</li></ul><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/EarningsChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5BU0RBUSZTeW1ib2w9TVNGVA?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="325" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/EarningsChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5BU0RBUSZTeW1ib2w9TVNGVA"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in Microsoft Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider Microsoft, you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Microsoft wasn't on the list.</p><p>While Microsoft currently has a Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

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<p>Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) reported quarterly earnings of $4.13 per share, exceeding estimates by $0.48. The company has a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. Microsoft announced a dividend increase to $0.91 per share, payable on December 11. Analysts maintain a consensus "Buy" rating with a target price of $626.58. Recent insider sales included EVP Takeshi Numoto and CEO Satya Nadella, reducing their holdings. The stock traded down to $541.55 with a market cap of $4.03 trillion and a P/E ratio of 39.70.</p>

- Microsoft reported quarterly earnings of $4.13 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of $3.65.  
- The company announced a dividend increase to $0.91 per share, with a payout ratio of 24.34%.  
- Analysts maintain a consensus "Buy" rating for Microsoft, with a target price of $626.58, while institutional investors hold 71.13% of the stock.  

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Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.48 EPS