First Nebraska Trust Co Purchases Shares of 90,880 Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• First Nebraska Trust Co. bought 90,880 Microsoft shares worth approximately $33.6 million, making Microsoft its sixth-largest holding at 3.1% of the portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft reported quarterly EPS of $4.74, exceeding estimates by $0.50, while revenue rose 17.7% year over year to $90.01 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, equivalent to a 0.8% annual yield.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive view, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $560.27, though concerns include heavy AI infrastructure spending, potential chip shortages and recent insider selling.

First Nebraska Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 90,880 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $33,641,000. Microsoft comprises about 3.1% of First Nebraska Trust Co's portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position.

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

Microsoft Stock Down 3.0%

MSFT stock opened at $480.35 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $412.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $408.06. The company has a market capitalization of $3.57 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.75, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.65 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s Azure business reportedly surpassed $100 billion in annual revenue, reinforcing confidence that AI demand is translating into substantial cloud growth. The company’s strong recent earnings, rising Microsoft 365 seat count and increasing adoption of premium E7 and Copilot offerings provide additional long-term growth support. Azure revenue article Microsoft 365 seats article
• Positive Sentiment: William Blair reaffirmed a Buy rating, citing early AI monetization and a constructive long-term risk-reward profile. Other coverage highlighted Microsoft’s ability to generate cash while investing heavily in AI infrastructure, distinguishing it from some competitors. Microsoft Buy rating article
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is developing its Maia 300 AI accelerator, potentially reducing dependence on Nvidia processors and improving supply flexibility and infrastructure economics over time. Maia 300 chip article
• Neutral Sentiment: A partnership with Plug Power tested hydrogen fuel-cell backup power for Microsoft data centers. The trial could support data-center resilience, but Plug’s CEO said it does not represent a strategic pivot or an immediate material change for Microsoft. Plug Power and Microsoft article
• Negative Sentiment: A Guardian investigation raised questions about a possible shortfall in advanced AI chips installed across Microsoft’s facilities relative to its stated data-center expansion plans. Reports cited a potential gap of roughly 2.2 million chips, fueling concerns about deployment timing, capacity and near-term AI revenue growth. Microsoft chip capacity article
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley warned that heavy AI capital expenditure and rising debt-related obligations could pressure hyperscaler credit quality. Although Microsoft has a strong balance sheet, the warning increases scrutiny of whether massive infrastructure spending will generate adequate returns. Morgan Stanley hyperscaler warning

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 42,677 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 37,310 shares of company stock worth $17,256,219. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on MSFT. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, July 24th. Phillip Securities downgraded Microsoft from a "strong-buy" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Argus cut their price objective on Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Raymond James Financial cut Microsoft from a "market perform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $575.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $560.27.

About Microsoft

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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