Microsoft FY2025 EPS Estimate Increased by Zacks Research

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research boosted their FY2025 earnings estimates for shares of Microsoft in a research note issued on Wednesday, May 21st. Zacks Research analyst V. Sawalka now anticipates that the software giant will earn $13.29 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast 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.

MSFT has been the topic of a number of other reports. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $515.00 target price (up from $500.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $513.13.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $454.86 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34. Microsoft has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.38 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s 50-day moving average is $401.04 and its 200 day moving average is $413.59.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total value of $32,703,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 476,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Judson Althoff sold 16,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $458.18, for a total transaction of $7,330,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,906,221.80. This represents a 14.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 131,743 shares of company stock worth $58,375,673 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Newton One Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% during the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

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.