Erste Group Bank Increases Earnings Estimates for Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) – Equities research analysts at Erste Group Bank boosted their FY2027 earnings estimates for shares of Microsoft in a research report issued on Thursday, June 25th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now anticipates that the software giant will post earnings of $19.43 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $19.40. The consensus estimate for Microsoft’s current full-year earnings is $16.76 per share.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on MSFT. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Microsoft from $595.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $540.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $505.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Phillip Securities raised shares of Microsoft to a “buy” rating and set a $485.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Forty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $560.86.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $368.57 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Microsoft has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $409.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $420.11. The firm has a market cap of $2.74 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.94, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The business had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.46 earnings per share. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 21.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total transaction of $1,812,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. The trade was a 8.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 51.3% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 700 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC now owns 431 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Better Money Decisions LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Better Money Decisions LLC now owns 3,498 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,740,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Endowment Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,251 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,720,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Deutsche Bank reiterated a Buy rating, saying Microsoft’s AI business is underappreciated and that its cloud AI franchises may be more valuable than the market currently implies.
• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush and other bullish strategists said the recent selloff in Microsoft and other mega-cap tech names looks oversold, arguing that long-term AI demand remains intact and that current weakness could be a buying opportunity.
• Positive Sentiment: Michael Burry disclosed long-dated call options on Microsoft, adding a high-profile vote of confidence in the stock’s long-term upside.
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft entered a strategic partnership with Commvault and also expanded Microsoft 365 Copilot workflows with Morningstar data, reinforcing that its AI and enterprise software ecosystem continues to grow.
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft took a Sisvel Wi-Fi multimode patent pool license, a routine licensing development that is unlikely to move the stock much.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles framed the selloff as a valuation reset, with some investors viewing Microsoft as a long-term opportunity after the stock’s sharp decline from its highs. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft faces fresh legal and regulatory overhangs, including a securities fraud class action tied to alleged Copilot and Azure misrepresentations, plus a separate copyright lawsuit from nearly 400 newspaper publishers.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory scrutiny is also rising in Europe, where Azure may be labeled a gatekeeper under the Digital Markets Act and Italy has opened an antitrust probe into Microsoft 365 and Copilot pricing/product integration.
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continue to flag Microsoft’s heavy AI spending, with some noting the stock is headed for its worst monthly performance since the dot-com era as investors question near-term payoff.

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft’s product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).