FY2025 EPS Estimates for Microsoft Boosted by Zacks Research

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) - Analysts at Zacks Research upped their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Microsoft in a research report issued on Wednesday, May 21st. Zacks Research analyst V. Sawalka now forecasts that the software giant will earn $13.29 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $13.03. The consensus estimate for Microsoft's current full-year earnings is $13.08 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Microsoft's Q2 2026 earnings at $3.66 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $3.88 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $14.77 EPS.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The company had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.94 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Westpark Capital reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James boosted their target price on Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $512.63.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $452.57 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.36 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $399.71 and a 200-day moving average of $413.31. Microsoft has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $468.35.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Fosun International Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% during the first quarter. Fosun International Ltd now owns 6,633 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,490,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,866,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant's stock worth $443,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 3.5% in the first quarter. Gagnon Securities LLC now owns 704 shares of the software giant's stock worth $264,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Boulder Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 1.0% in the third quarter. Boulder Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,569 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,106,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at $204,038,664.12. This represents a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total value of $7,330,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 98,010 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. The trade was a 14.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 110,243 shares of company stock worth $48,619,618 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.66%.

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation develops and supports software, services, devices and solutions worldwide. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers office, exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft viva, and Microsoft 365 copilot; and office consumer services, such as Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions, Office licensed on-premises, and other office services.

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