First Western Trust Bank Reduces Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• First Western Trust Bank decreased its holdings in Microsoft Corporation by 8.8%, now owning 51,839 shares valued at approximately $19.46 million, making it the bank's 10th largest holding.
• A number of brokerages have increased their price targets for Microsoft, with Royal Bank Of Canada setting the new target at $640.00, reflecting strong analyst confidence in the company.
• Microsoft has announced a $0.83 quarterly dividend, with an annual yield of 0.7%, further demonstrating the company’s commitment to returning value to shareholders.

First Western Trust Bank trimmed its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 8.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 51,839 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 4,988 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 0.9% of First Western Trust Bank's holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. First Western Trust Bank's holdings in Microsoft were worth $19,460,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Newton One Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $504.78, for a total transaction of $75,315,699.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 790,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $399,206,272.56. This represents a 15.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total value of $2,557,502.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at $20,624,012.52. The trade was a 11.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.6%

MSFT stock traded up $3.20 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $498.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 16,724,087 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,521,180. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $509.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $451.72. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.70 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.52, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.04.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.44% and a net margin of 36.15%.The business had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.95 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 18.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Microsoft from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Microsoft from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. DA Davidson increased their price target on Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Westpark Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $612.54.

Microsoft Profile

Microsoft Corporation develops and supports software, services, devices and solutions worldwide. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers office, exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft viva, and Microsoft 365 copilot; and office consumer services, such as Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions, Office licensed on-premises, and other office services.