1,705 Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co.

Key Points

• Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. cut its Microsoft stake by 4.8%, selling 1,705 shares and retaining 33,958 shares valued at approximately $12.7 million. Institutional investors own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive, with 42 Buy ratings, four Holds and two Sells; the consensus rating is Moderate Buy with a $578.73 price target. Microsoft shares recently traded at $535.07, near their 52-week high.
• Microsoft exceeded quarterly expectations with $4.74 in EPS and $90.01 billion in revenue, while revenue grew 17.7% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share, though executives sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. reduced its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,958 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,705 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 3.1% of Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $12,667,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Frankly Finances LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Microsoft by 37.4% in the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. now owns 125 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth about $60,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $101,000. Finally, Glynn Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 34.2% in the 2nd quarter. Glynn Capital Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Melius Research set a $665.00 target price on shares of Microsoft and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $586.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Microsoft from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Raymond James Financial cut Microsoft from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $680.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $578.73.

Microsoft Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $535.07 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year high of $553.72. The company has a market capitalization of $3.97 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $501.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $434.73.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.65 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft introduced Microsoft-Decision-1, an AI model it says makes decisions substantially faster than GPT-6 Sol. The launch reinforces Microsoft’s competitive position in enterprise AI and could support demand for Azure and Copilot services. Microsoft launches Microsoft-Decision-1
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains bullish on Microsoft’s AI stack, Azure acceleration, Copilot adoption and a large reported backlog. Wells Fargo reportedly raised its price target to $725, while Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 target. Morgan Stanley rating
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is attempting to revive Windows and expand on-device AI with new Nvidia-powered Surface hardware, including the premium Surface Laptop Ultra. Local AI processing could strengthen the Windows ecosystem and stimulate higher-value PC sales. Surface Laptop Ultra
• Positive Sentiment: The company is nearing a $4 trillion market capitalization after a strong earnings beat, with revenue and earnings growth continuing to support the recent rally. The next major test is Microsoft’s expected October 28 earnings report. Microsoft approaches $4 trillion valuation
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new Xbox division, focused on film, television, events and theme parks, could expand the reach of its gaming franchises, although the strategy is unlikely to materially affect near-term financial results. Microsoft forms new Xbox unit
• Negative Sentiment: The U.S. suspension of Microsoft’s PERM green-card sponsorship program creates hiring and retention uncertainty, particularly for specialized AI and engineering workers. Investors are weighing potential compliance costs and the risk of an “AI brain drain.” U.S. suspends Microsoft green-card program
• Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned game companies over virtual currencies, adding regulatory risk to the gaming business. Italy gaming investigation

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total value of $43,388,826.50. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total transaction of $20,764,903.98. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $265,888,830.48. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices, gaming products and business solutions. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, the company is best known for the Windows operating system and Microsoft Office productivity software. Microsoft is headquartered in Redmond, Washington, and serves consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

Microsoft's productivity and business offerings include Microsoft 365 applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, along with collaboration tools including Teams.

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