Beacon Bank & Trust Sells 1,492 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Beacon Bank & Trust trimmed its Microsoft stake by 3.9% in the first quarter, selling 1,492 shares and ending with 36,605 shares valued at about $13.55 million.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $4.27 per share topping estimates and revenue of $82.89 billion, up 18.3% from a year earlier.
• The stock remains heavily supported by institutions and analysts: 71.13% is held by institutional investors, and Wall Street currently has a consensus Moderate Buy rating with a $557.96 average price target.

Beacon Bank & Trust reduced its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,605 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,492 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 2.8% of Beacon Bank & Trust's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Beacon Bank & Trust's holdings in Microsoft were worth $13,550,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its stake in Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,073,486,000 after acquiring an additional 60,009,531 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the 1st quarter valued at about $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 500.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $30,840,432,000 after purchasing an additional 49,618,571 shares during the period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 49,640.3% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant's stock worth $14,905,904,000 after purchasing an additional 29,906,791 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Trading Down 1.8%

MSFT stock opened at $393.82 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The business's 50 day moving average is $400.28 and its 200-day moving average is $411.30. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The firm has a market cap of $2.93 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.46 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 21.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. New Street Research decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Microsoft to a "buy" rating and set a $485.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $415.00 to $400.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Microsoft from $595.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Forty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $557.96.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at $50,928,792.23. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is still getting support from Wall Street, with some analysts and portfolio managers reiterating buy ratings and arguing that Azure demand, Copilot adoption, and Microsoft 365 tailwinds can support long-term earnings power. Article: Josh Baer Reiterates Buy on Microsoft, Citing AI Leadership, Azure/M365 Budget Tailwinds and Underappreciated Earnings Power
• Positive Sentiment: A CIO survey and other commentary pointed to strong Azure demand at multi-year highs, reinforcing the view that Microsoft’s cloud and AI platform remains a core beneficiary of enterprise spending. Article: Microsoft (MSFT) Stock Surges on Strong Azure Demand in Latest CIO Survey
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft also announced a multi-year AI infrastructure partnership with 3M, which investors viewed as another sign that its Azure ecosystem is expanding into real-world enterprise use cases. Article: Microsoft Stock Rebounds on 3M Optical Infrastructure Alliance
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella criticized Anthropic’s Fable restrictions and pushed for Microsoft to promote its own AI models more aggressively, highlighting the company’s effort to reduce reliance on outside AI vendors. Article: Microsoft's Nadella rips Anthropic's Fable restrictions in staff meeting: 'Doesn't make sense'
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft is training its sales force to push in-house AI models over OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic suggest a strategic shift toward better control over costs and monetization, but the market is still waiting for proof that this approach boosts returns. Article: Microsoft is reportedly training salespeople to talk down OpenAI and Anthropic
• Negative Sentiment: Several reports said analysts trimmed price targets ahead of earnings, and commentary stressed that investors are increasingly worried Microsoft’s AI spending spree could pressure margins before the payoff becomes visible. Article: Why Microsoft Is Playing a Different AI Game Than Big Tech—and Cash Flow Is the Test
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is facing added overhang from securities class-action deadlines and allegations tied to Copilot and Azure disclosures, which can keep pressure on sentiment even though these developments are not operational. Article: MSFT UPCOMING DEADLINE : The Gross Law Firm Alerts Microsoft Corporation Stockholders of Securities Class Action

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft's product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).

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