3,514 Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Bought by Heritage Trust Co

Key Points

• Heritage Trust Co increased its Microsoft stake by 3.3% in the second quarter, purchasing 3,514 shares and bringing its holdings to 109,321 shares worth approximately $40.8 million.
• Institutional investors own 71.13% of Microsoft, while several major funds—including Auto Owners Insurance, Corient Private Wealth, Amundi and Arrowstreet Capital—also expanded their positions.
• Microsoft reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with revenue rising 17.7% year over year, and increased its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $578.73.

Heritage Trust Co raised its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 109,321 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 3,514 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 3.5% of Heritage Trust Co's portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Heritage Trust Co's holdings in Microsoft were worth $40,779,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its stake in Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,073,486,000 after purchasing an additional 60,009,531 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 234.5% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 17,822,280 shares of the software giant's stock worth $8,619,211,000 after buying an additional 12,493,786 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 30.8% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant's stock worth $15,426,862,000 after buying an additional 9,814,598 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 64.3% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 24,264,779 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $8,982,083,000 after buying an additional 9,493,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 38,442.1% during the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,810,388 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,521,001,000 after buying an additional 6,792,718 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT opened at $529.30 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $495.52 and a 200 day moving average of $432.04. The stock has a market cap of $3.93 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.47, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.62 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This is a positive change from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.27%.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade and higher price target: Melius Research upgraded Microsoft from “Hold” to “Buy” and set a $665 target, arguing that corporate concerns about AI safety, governance and security could increase demand for Microsoft’s enterprise tools. BNP Paribas also reportedly raised its forecast to $604, citing Azure growth, Copilot consumption-based pricing and the integration of OpenAI-related revenue. Melius Research upgrades Microsoft
• Positive Sentiment: AI and cloud momentum remain the core catalyst: Investors continue to focus on strong Azure demand, expanding AI infrastructure requirements and Copilot adoption. Microsoft is increasingly viewed as a relatively dependable enterprise AI leader, with its installed base, cloud platform and security products potentially giving it an advantage as businesses seek trusted AI solutions. Microsoft viewed as an AI leader
• Positive Sentiment: Upcoming Windows and Surface event: Microsoft’s October 7 event will highlight on-device AI and could provide updates on Windows, Surface and Copilot monetization. The event is being watched for evidence that AI can reinvigorate the devices business while complementing faster-growing cloud operations. Microsoft Windows and Surface event
• Neutral Sentiment: Internal AI model shift: Microsoft is reportedly steering employees away from Anthropic’s Claude toward internally developed AI models. This could reduce costs and dependence on outside providers, but investors will watch whether Microsoft maintains performance and enterprise customer confidence.
• Negative Sentiment: Risks include valuation, spending and rates: Microsoft’s strong recent rally has increased valuation concerns, while substantial capital expenditures needed for data centers could pressure free cash flow. Rising Treasury yields may also weigh on richly valued AI stocks. Rising Treasury yields and AI stocks
• Negative Sentiment: Isolated selling signals: A member of Congress disclosed a sale of Microsoft shares ahead of earnings season. The trade is a limited sentiment indicator rather than a fundamental development, but it may attract attention after reports that Microsoft insiders have sold shares without reported purchases in recent months. Congressman sells Microsoft stock

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Melius Research set a $665.00 target price on Microsoft and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Citizens Jmp reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Finally, Phillip Securities lowered Microsoft from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Forty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $578.73.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This trade represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Company Profile

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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