FY2027 EPS Estimates for Microsoft Cut by Erste Group Bank

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) – Stock analysts at Erste Group Bank lowered their FY2027 earnings per share estimates for Microsoft in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, July 15th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now expects that the software giant will earn $19.40 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $19.43. The consensus estimate for Microsoft’s current full-year earnings is $16.71 per share.

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

MSFT has been the subject of several other reports. BNP Paribas Exane cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Scotiabank raised shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. President Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $557.46.

Microsoft Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $402.29 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Microsoft has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The business has a 50 day moving average of $400.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $410.17. The company has a market capitalization of $2.99 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.95, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.13.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. 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 0.9%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.67%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,073,486,000 after acquiring an additional 60,009,531 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the first quarter valued at approximately $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 500.0% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 49,618,571 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 29,906,791 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft announced an expanded strategic partnership with AMD to deploy Helios systems across Azure, reinforcing its AI infrastructure buildout and giving the stock a near-term boost. Microsoft expands AMD partnership with Helios AI infrastructure deployment on Azure
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators are framing Microsoft as attractively valued ahead of earnings, with some highlighting upside from Azure growth, AI execution, and Copilot adoption if management delivers strong commentary. Microsoft Stock Price Offers ‘Attractive Entry Point,’ Says Deutsche Bank Ahead of Q2 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is approaching fiscal Q4 earnings on July 29, and investors are watching for updates on Azure growth, AI spending, and whether Copilot is gaining traction. Microsoft earnings to spotlight Azure growth, AI spending
• Negative Sentiment: Sentiment is also being weighed down by a new securities-fraud lawsuit tied to prior AI/Copilot disclosures, which could add legal and reputational overhang ahead of earnings. MSFT Investors Have Opportunity to Lead Microsoft Corporation Securities Fraud Lawsuit

Microsoft Company Profile

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).