Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is M&T Bank Corp's 5th Largest Position

M&T Bank Corp lowered its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 7.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,193,682 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 169,587 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 3.0% of M&T Bank Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Microsoft were worth $823,486,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Newton One Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 66.7% during the first quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. IFS Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% during the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $62,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $507.23 on Monday. The business's 50-day moving average is $506.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $444.52. The company has a market capitalization of $3.77 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a current ratio of 1.35. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total transaction of $2,557,502.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,624,012.52. This trade represents a 11.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,850 shares of company stock worth $4,406,512. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Mizuho upped their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $637.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Scotiabank upped their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. DA Davidson raised their target price on Microsoft from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $612.54.

About Microsoft

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.

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