Microsoft FY2028 EPS Forecast Raised by Erste Group Bank

Key Points

• Erste Group Bank raised Microsoft’s FY2028 EPS forecast to $23.51 from $23.38, above the current full-year consensus estimate of $19.61.
• Microsoft’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with EPS of $4.74 versus $4.24 expected and revenue of $90.01 billion, up 17.7% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive: 42 analysts rate the stock Buy and five rate it Hold, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $564.27. Microsoft also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share from $0.91.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Erste Group Bank increased their FY2028 EPS estimates for Microsoft in a research note issued to investors on Friday, September 18th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now expects that the software giant will post earnings per share of $23.51 for the year, up from their previous 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The company had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.65 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup restated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, August 31st. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $575.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $680.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Evercore set a $528.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $502.00 to $522.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $564.27.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $493.78 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $466.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $422.94. Microsoft has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $553.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.67 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.49, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This is a positive change from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,338,370,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 64,375,360 shares of the software giant's stock worth $24,013,297,000 after acquiring an additional 543,172 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 60,009,531 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $18,306,443,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 12.0% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 46,694,778 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $17,418,076,000 after purchasing an additional 5,019,702 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s Azure and AI businesses remain the primary bullish catalysts. Analysts point to accelerating cloud growth, broad enterprise adoption and Microsoft’s distribution advantage through Azure, Microsoft 365 and Copilot. These Magnificent Seven Members Still Look Cheap
• Positive Sentiment: Causaly expanded its collaboration with Microsoft, making its agentic scientific-research tools available within Microsoft Copilot, Microsoft 365 and Teams. The deal supports Microsoft’s strategy of adding specialized AI workflows to its enterprise software ecosystem. Causaly is Now Available in Microsoft Copilot
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s 8% quarterly dividend increase reinforces its strong cash generation and provides shareholder support, although the company continues to invest heavily in cloud and AI infrastructure. Microsoft Slips as Its Quarterly Dividend Climbs 8%
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft AI chief Mustafa Suleyman called recent reports of concerning model behavior at OpenAI a “serious situation” and emphasized the need for controllable, human-aligned AI. The comments highlight Microsoft’s safety focus but also underscore reputational and product-liability risks across the sector. OpenAI's latest AI revelation is a serious situation
• Negative Sentiment: Unsealed filings reportedly include Microsoft and OpenAI employees’ concerns that AI training on millions of news articles could amount to the “largest theft of labor in human history.” The disclosures may weaken the companies’ fair-use defense and increase potential litigation, licensing and regulatory costs. OpenAI, Microsoft executives' quotes on AI training threaten copyright defense
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of insider selling added to near-term sentiment pressure, while Microsoft faces competitive challenges from Salesforce’s AIforce and ongoing debate over whether its substantial AI spending will generate adequate returns. Microsoft Trading Down After Insider Selling

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.