Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) – Equities research analysts at Erste Group Bank increased their FY2028 earnings per share estimates for shares of Microsoft in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, September 18th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now forecasts that the software giant will earn $23.51 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $23.38. The consensus estimate for Microsoft’s current full-year earnings is $19.61 per share.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.65 EPS.
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Microsoft Stock Down 0.7%
NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $498.00 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company has a market cap of $3.70 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.73, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $553.72. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $471.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $424.28.
Microsoft Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 20.27%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,007,086.83. This represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Trading of Microsoft
A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 315,653,206 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $117,744,959,000 after buying an additional 8,944,917 shares during the period. Silicon Valley Capital Partners raised its holdings in Microsoft by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 153,778 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $57,362,000 after acquiring an additional 8,022 shares during the period. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 35.9% during the second quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA now owns 22,364 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $8,342,000 after acquiring an additional 5,905 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 63.2% during the second quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 5,716 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,116,000 after acquiring an additional 2,213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.7% in the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 105,520 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $39,361,000 after acquiring an additional 3,733 shares during the period. 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: Analysts raised their outlook. Oppenheimer increased its Microsoft price target to $570 from $515 while maintaining an Outperform rating, citing sustained Azure and Microsoft 365 commercial momentum into fiscal 2027. Cantor Fitzgerald also reportedly raised its target to $608 and kept an Overweight rating. Oppenheimer Microsoft price target article
- Positive Sentiment: Azure has additional growth levers. BNP Paribas said recent Azure strength may not reflect the full opportunity, pointing to higher pricing as contracts renew, capacity expansion and a potential SpaceX cloud relationship. Azure growth has reportedly reached the mid-40% range, supporting the view that AI infrastructure demand can continue driving revenue. BNP Paribas Azure outlook article
- Positive Sentiment: Capital returns remain supportive. Microsoft raised its quarterly dividend approximately 8% to $0.98 per share, extending its dividend-growth streak to more than two decades. The increase signals management confidence, although the modest yield is unlikely to be the primary stock catalyst. Microsoft dividend increase article
- Neutral Sentiment: OpenAI remains both an opportunity and a concentration risk. Microsoft’s AI partner is reportedly seeking a valuation above $1.2 trillion, potentially reinforcing Microsoft’s Azure and Copilot ecosystem. However, projected cash burn of roughly $278 billion and the company’s reliance on Microsoft-supported infrastructure raise questions about customer durability and AI spending economics. OpenAI valuation and Microsoft article
- Negative Sentiment: Xbox layoffs pressured sentiment. Microsoft is cutting approximately 268 Xbox jobs, with broader reports pointing to roughly 500 affected employees, while shifting the next Halo game to Activision. The move highlights a continuing gaming reset and was the clearest near-term reason for weakness in MSFT shares. Microsoft Xbox restructuring article
- Negative Sentiment: AI execution risks remain. Investors continue to monitor heavy capital spending, copyright and regulatory challenges, and concerns that AI revenue is concentrated among a small number of customers. These risks could pressure margins or the valuation if Azure growth fails to meet elevated expectations.
Microsoft Company Profile
Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital solutions for consumers, businesses and public-sector organizations. Its products and services include the Windows operating system, Microsoft 365 productivity applications, Teams collaboration software, Dynamics business applications and Azure cloud computing services.
The company also operates LinkedIn, GitHub and Xbox, which includes gaming consoles, video games and related online services.
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