Grove Bank & Trust Acquires 2,458 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Grove Bank & Trust increased its Microsoft stake by 6.6%, buying 2,458 shares in the third quarter to hold 39,661 shares valued at about $20.3 million.
• Microsoft beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $4.89 and revenue of $92.28 billion, up 18.8% year over year; it also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share from $0.91.
• Company insiders sold 142,809 shares worth approximately $72.1 million over the past 90 days. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target of $609.54.

Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 6.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,661 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 2,458 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 2.0% of Grove Bank & Trust's holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Grove Bank & Trust's holdings in Microsoft were worth $20,342,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Hedeker Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Hedeker Wealth LLC now owns 55,236 shares of the software giant's stock worth $20,604,000 after acquiring an additional 3,546 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its stake in Microsoft by 4.0% in the second quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 229,490 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $85,604,000 after acquiring an additional 8,773 shares in the last quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,652,000. Dearborn Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $75,641,000. Finally, GTS Securities LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 44.6% in the second quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 271,597 shares of the software giant's stock worth $101,311,000 after purchasing an additional 83,734 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total value of $43,388,826.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Amy Hood sold 7,305 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $544.37, for a total transaction of $3,976,622.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 548,091 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $298,364,297.67. This trade represents a 1.32% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 142,809 shares of company stock worth $72,114,646 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 2.2%

Microsoft stock opened at $533.16 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $517.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $441.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.22. The company has a market cap of $3.96 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.83, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.05. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $559.15.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $0.17. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.28% and a net margin of 41.17%. The firm had revenue of $92.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $90.62 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.13 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.87 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend 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 presently 19.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. William Blair assumed coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, October 5th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. UBS Group set a $700.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Griffin Securities cut Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Wolfe Research upgraded Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $440.00 price target on Microsoft in a report on Monday, September 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $609.54.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft and IBM introduced Imagine Enterprise, a platform combining IBM’s library of more than 6,000 AI agents with Microsoft’s cloud, data and security tools. The partnership could help drive enterprise demand for Microsoft’s AI and cloud services. IBM and Microsoft Announce a New AI Agent Platform Designed for Industry-Specific Transformation
• Positive Sentiment: A five-year partnership with Ohio State University will apply Microsoft’s cloud and AI technology to healthcare, research and education, adding another potential customer and use case. Ohio State and Microsoft announce five-year strategic partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft reportedly urged the administration to drop a proposed ban on Chinese data-center technology, warning that restrictions could complicate data-center deployment. The outcome could affect equipment access and rollout timing. Microsoft presses Trump to scuttle expected ban on Chinese data-center technology
• Negative Sentiment: Anthropic unveiled workplace tools that could compete with Microsoft Office, including spreadsheet-related capabilities. The move raised concerns about competition in Microsoft’s enterprise software business. Anthropic unveils office suite to challenge Microsoft
• Negative Sentiment: A hot inflation report and rising bond yields weighed on the broader market, creating an additional headwind for technology shares. Stock market coverage on inflation and technology shares

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices, and digital solutions for consumers, businesses, and public-sector organizations. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, the company is headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Its products and services include the Windows operating system, Microsoft 365 productivity applications, Azure cloud computing, LinkedIn, GitHub, Surface devices, and Xbox gaming products and services. Microsoft also provides business software, cybersecurity tools, and artificial intelligence technologies.

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