Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. Purchases New Shares in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 78,873 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $29,421,000. Microsoft accounts for about 2.5% of Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 287.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure demand remains a major support. Microsoft’s reported $678 billion backlog of contracted cloud commitments provides visibility for future revenue and helps defend the company’s aggressive AI infrastructure spending. Microsoft Stock Rises as $678 Billion Backlog Supports AI Spending
• Positive Sentiment: Meta is becoming a significant Azure AI customer. Meta reportedly spends hundreds of millions of dollars annually on Azure and consumes large volumes of AI tokens, reinforcing demand for Microsoft’s cloud and AI services. Meta Platforms Emerges as a Major Microsoft Azure AI Client
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft continues investing in AI capabilities. The company is increasing fiscal 2027 capital expenditures to expand infrastructure, while internally developed AI chips could improve efficiency and margins over time. Its latest quarterly results also showed strong earnings and 17.7% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is hiring AI-capable legal talent and reportedly offering compensation of up to $279,000 for a legal engineer. The move highlights the company’s effort to integrate AI into commercial and compliance operations but is unlikely to materially affect near-term results. Microsoft Will Pay Up to $279K for a Lawyer Who Can Build AI
• Negative Sentiment: Higher yields are pressuring long-duration AI valuations. Rising interest rates reduce the present value of projected future AI profits, contributing to market questions despite Microsoft’s backlog and operating strength. Microsoft Slips as 4.68% Yield Tests Its $678 Billion Backlog
• Negative Sentiment: Technology stocks broadly declined Thursday afternoon, adding sector-driven pressure to MSFT. Investors are also monitoring concerns that large AI companies buying services from one another could create circular demand signals.
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft faces geopolitical and execution risks. China is accelerating its move away from Windows, while continued AI capital spending raises questions about returns on investment. Recent insider activity also shows executive selling without reported purchases, a modest negative sentiment signal.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 37,310 shares of company stock worth $17,256,219. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $515.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $640.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Evercore set a $528.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $560.27.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.7%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $481.15 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $3.57 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.79, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.11. The firm's 50-day moving average is $417.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $408.78. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 20.27%.

Microsoft 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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