Q3 Earnings Estimate for Microsoft Issued By Zacks Research

Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q3 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Microsoft in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, February 19th. Zacks Research analyst V. Sawalka now forecasts that the software giant will post earnings per share of $3.19 for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $3.15. The consensus estimate for Microsoft’s current full-year earnings is $13.08 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Microsoft’s Q4 2025 earnings at $3.31 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $3.64 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $3.87 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $14.65 EPS and Q2 2027 earnings at $4.27 EPS.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on MSFT. StockNews.com upgraded Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $525.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $520.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.96.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $397.90 on Monday. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $423.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $423.05. The company has a market cap of $2.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 32.04, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft has a 52 week low of $385.58 and a 52 week high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.93 EPS.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 26.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $430.87, for a total transaction of $1,077,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 53,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,203,211.24. The trade was a 4.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 7,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,070,340 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $5,626,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,420,000. Armis Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth about $7,792,000. Chokshi & Queen Wealth Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $2,494,000. Finally, Wilkins Miller Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,052,000. 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.