10,548 Shares in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Bought by Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida

Key Points

• Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida opened a Microsoft position of 10,548 shares worth about $5.41 million, making MSFT 3.1% of its portfolio and its fifth-largest holding.
• Microsoft beat quarterly estimates, reporting EPS of $4.89 and revenue of $92.28 billion, up 18.8% year over year; it also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share.
• Executives reported share sales under pre-arranged trading plans, while reports of Microsoft scaling back some rented AI-computing capacity have prompted questions about AI spending and expected returns. Analysts’ consensus rating remains “Moderate Buy.”

Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida acquired a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 10,548 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $5,410,000. Microsoft makes up approximately 3.1% of Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida's holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at about $27,338,370,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter worth about $18,306,443,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,928,664,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $5,653,812,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter worth approximately $4,000,706,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 7,305 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $545.42, for a total value of $3,984,293.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 555,396 shares of the company's stock, valued at $302,924,086.32. This trade represents a 1.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 135,504 shares of company stock worth $68,138,024 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s free-cash-flow position may offer some reassurance: an analysis notes that several other major AI hyperscalers are generating negative free cash flow, while Microsoft is generating positive cash flow. Is Microsoft Getting Enough Credit for Better Free Cash Flow Compared to its Peers?
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports say Microsoft plans to reduce the number of neocloud partners it uses, wind down rented AI capacity from Oracle, and declined a Texas data-center expansion with Nscale. This could help control costs and give Microsoft tighter oversight as it builds its own infrastructure, but the implications for capacity growth remain uncertain. Microsoft plans to use fewer neoclouds as AI buildout shows signs of strain
• Negative Sentiment: Investors may read the canceled or reduced AI-computing commitments as a sign that Microsoft is reassessing demand, project timing, or returns on its data-center spending. The shift comes as reports highlight construction delays and the rising cost of meeting a growing AI backlog, intensifying scrutiny of whether heavy investment will pay off. Microsoft is winding down Oracle deal to rent AI cloud capacity, Bloomberg News reports
• Negative Sentiment: Broader unease around AI spending and tech-market volatility may also weigh on MSFT, as investors question the scale of data-center investment relative to future cash returns. Microsoft and Oracle's AI ambitions are suddenly a lot more expensive

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MSFT. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Microsoft from $570.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $640.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup restated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Roth Capital started coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Friday. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on Microsoft from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $609.54.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $530.61 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.94 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.69, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.05. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $559.15. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $516.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $440.18.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $0.17. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.28% and a net margin of 41.17%. The company had revenue of $92.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $90.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.13 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 20.46%.

Microsoft Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices, and digital solutions for consumers, businesses, and public-sector organizations. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, the company is headquartered in Redmond, Washington.

Its products and services include the Windows operating system, Microsoft 365 productivity applications, Azure cloud computing, LinkedIn, GitHub, Surface devices, and Xbox gaming products and services. Microsoft also provides business software, cybersecurity tools, and artificial intelligence technologies.

Microsoft serves customers around the world through its products, online platforms, and network of business partners.

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