Q1 EPS Estimates for Microsoft Boosted by Griffin Securities

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) – Investment analysts at Griffin Securities lifted their Q1 2026 EPS estimates for shares of Microsoft in a note issued to investors on Sunday, October 5th. Griffin Securities analyst J. Vleeschhouwer now anticipates that the software giant will earn $3.61 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $3.48. The consensus estimate for Microsoft’s current full-year earnings is $13.08 per share. Griffin Securities also issued estimates for Microsoft’s Q2 2026 earnings at $3.79 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $3.67 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $3.93 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $15.00 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $4.09 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $4.24 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $16.84 EPS.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The company had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $73.79 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $581.00 to $639.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $582.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $650.00 target price (up previously from $600.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $618.47.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of MSFT opened at $524.85 on Wednesday. Microsoft has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $513.61 and its 200-day moving average is $469.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.90 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This is an increase from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 24.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total transaction of $2,557,502.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. This trade represents a 11.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $504.78, for a total transaction of $75,315,699.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 790,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $399,206,272.56. The trade was a 15.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Newton One Investments LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 66.7% in the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 51.3% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 386.7% in the second quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 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.