Erste Group Bank Increases Earnings Estimates for Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) – Equities research analysts at Erste Group Bank raised their FY2027 earnings per share estimates for Microsoft in a report released on Wednesday, August 5th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now anticipates that the software giant will earn $19.54 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $19.46. The consensus estimate for Microsoft’s current full-year earnings is $19.58 per share. Erste Group Bank also issued estimates for Microsoft’s FY2028 earnings at $23.32 EPS.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on MSFT. Raymond James Financial lowered Microsoft from a “market perform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $586.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, July 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $559.16.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.2%

MSFT stock opened at $506.06 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.76 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.18, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year high of $553.72. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $405.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $406.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.65 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,572 shares of company stock valued at $17,775,330. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Frankly Finances LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 287.0% during the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Maia 300 chip plans support the rally: Reports say Microsoft could unveil its Maia 300 AI accelerator as early as September and secure capacity for more than 300,000 chips by 2027, with longer-term ambitions exceeding one million units. The effort could reduce Microsoft’s dependence on Nvidia, lower AI-computing costs and potentially attract customers such as Anthropic. Microsoft plans to unveil its new Maia 300 AI chip this fall
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see measured AI investment and further upside: Bernstein raised its Microsoft price target from $647 to $660, arguing that the company is not building data-center capacity too aggressively. The firm said new infrastructure would remain useful for Azure even if AI demand moderated. Microsoft’s Datacenter Spending Is Disciplined
• Positive Sentiment: Cloud growth and backlog underpin investor confidence: JPMorgan cited Microsoft’s Azure expansion, substantial backlog and improving AI monetization while supporting higher market-wide earnings forecasts. Other bullish commentary points to strong recent results, including reported Azure growth and broad Copilot adoption. Microsoft Stock Rises as JPMorgan Backs AI Payoff
• Positive Sentiment: Capital returns add support: Microsoft’s large-scale dividends and share repurchases reinforce its position as a cash-generating technology leader, although investors are also evaluating how much capital is being redirected toward AI infrastructure. Microsoft Stock Runs One of the Market’s Biggest Cash-Return Machines
• Neutral Sentiment: AI opportunity comes with execution risks: Analysts continue debating whether megacap AI spending will generate adequate cash flow. Separately, reports of AI models reaching real-world systems could increase scrutiny of Microsoft’s autonomous-agent products and enterprise security controls.
• Negative Sentiment: Legal notices remain an overhang: Investor-rights firms are promoting a securities class action involving purchases made between May 1, 2025, and January 28, 2026, with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. The notices do not establish liability but could add reputational and litigation risk.

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).