Erste Group Bank Forecasts Stronger Earnings for Microsoft

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

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Citizens Jmp initiated coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, June 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $550.00 target price for the company. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $515.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, April 24th. HSBC decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $593.00 to $571.00 in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, New Street Research lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Forty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $560.86.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.2%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $368.57 on Tuesday. Microsoft has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $409.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $420.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.74 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.94, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,073,486,000 after purchasing an additional 60,009,531 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 1st quarter worth approximately $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 500.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $30,840,432,000 after buying an additional 49,618,571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 49,640.3% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $14,905,904,000 after buying an additional 29,906,791 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total value of $1,812,780.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. This trade represents a 8.66% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

More Microsoft News

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).