First Nebraska Trust Co Purchases 94,738 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• First Nebraska Trust Co. acquired 94,738 Microsoft shares worth approximately $35.3 million, making Microsoft its eighth-largest holding and representing 2.9% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of the company.
• Microsoft reported quarterly earnings of $4.74 per share and revenue of $90.01 billion, exceeding analyst expectations, while revenue increased 17.7% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share.
• Analysts maintain a favorable outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $589.71; recent targets range as high as $640.00.

First Nebraska Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 94,738 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $35,339,000. Microsoft comprises 2.9% of First Nebraska Trust Co's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kendall Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth $1,250,000. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,427,000. Vista Investment Management bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,658,000. Welch Capital Partners LLC NY bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,170,000. Finally, Hudson Portfolio Management LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth $1,413,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $529.05 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $505.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $440.59. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $553.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market cap of $3.93 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.46, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.65 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.27%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. This represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 7,305 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $545.42, for a total transaction of $3,984,293.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 555,396 shares in the company, valued at $302,924,086.32. This 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 150,314 shares of company stock worth $75,404,992. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, September 28th. CLSA restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Microsoft from $540.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $640.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $589.71.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect Microsoft to remain the only major hyperscaler with positive free cash flow over the next year despite heavy AI investment. This reinforces confidence that the company can fund data-center expansion without substantial external financing. Microsoft Free Cash Flow Expected to Remain Positive
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft signed a 20-year agreement with NiSource for approximately 1,100 megawatts of power for an Indiana data-center campus beginning in 2028. Securing electricity supports future Azure capacity as grid constraints become a bottleneck for AI expansion. Microsoft Signs Power Deal With NiSource
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s custom Maia AI chips and reports that a new model achieved comparable or better performance than OpenAI’s system using a fraction of the computing power could eventually reduce reliance on expensive third-party GPUs and improve AI economics. Microsoft Wants to Make AI Cheaper
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are focused on Azure growth, Copilot adoption, AI monetization and capital expenditures ahead of earnings. Strong demand could support the shares, but the market wants evidence that revenue growth is translating into sustainable margins.
• Negative Sentiment: The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority is investigating Microsoft’s grip on business software and says Microsoft and Amazon Web Services may need to do more to address cloud-service barriers. Potential remedies could increase compliance costs or weaken customer-lock-in advantages. UK Regulator Targets Microsoft’s Business Software Grip
• Negative Sentiment: Questions remain over whether custom chips will deliver meaningful savings: AI infrastructure, power and data-center commitments are rising rapidly, while Microsoft is reportedly seeking substantial cost reductions in Azure. That creates concern about near-term free-cash-flow and margin pressure.

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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