Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Position Trimmed by Montecito Bank & Trust

Key Points

• Montecito Bank & Trust trimmed its Microsoft stake by 3.9% in the first quarter, selling 1,674 shares and leaving it with 40,985 shares valued at about $15.17 million. Microsoft remains the firm’s 5th-largest holding, representing 2.5% of its portfolio.
• Microsoft posted strong quarterly results, reporting EPS of $4.27 versus estimates of $4.06 and revenue of $82.89 billion, up 18.3% year over year. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, yielding about 1.0% annually.
• Despite bullish analyst coverage, sentiment is mixed: 41 analysts rate the stock a Buy and the consensus target is $561.20, but recent insider sales, legal headlines, and concerns over heavy AI infrastructure spending have weighed on the shares.

Montecito Bank & Trust decreased its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 40,985 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,674 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 2.5% of Montecito Bank & Trust's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Montecito Bank & Trust's holdings in Microsoft were worth $15,171,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 700 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.9% in the third quarter. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC now owns 431 shares of the software giant's stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC now owns 697 shares of the software giant's stock worth $337,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pollock Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the third quarter. Pollock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,805 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,453,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $365.12 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.71 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50-day moving average of $411.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $422.73. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $356.28 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The business had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.46 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total transaction of $1,812,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,122,009.12. The trade was a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft continues to be framed as a long-term AI winner, with commentary highlighting strong Azure growth, a multi-billion-dollar AI revenue run rate, and the company’s deep role in enterprise AI adoption. Got $1,000? 2 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks to Buy Right Now and Hold for the Next Decade.
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s new 20-year Chevron power deal for a Texas AI data center reinforces confidence that it is still expanding aggressively to support future AI demand, which could help drive long-term cloud revenue. Microsoft Stock In Focus After Inking 20-Yr, 2.67 GW Power Deal With Chevron To Fuel AI Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is also getting support from bullish market commentary that says the stock may be oversold and could rebound as investors distinguish between short-term pressure and long-term fundamentals. Dan Ives Believes MSFT Is The Most Oversold Large-Cap Stock, Draws Parallels To 'Negative' Narratives Around GOOGL A Year Ago
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft announced a new AI-in-education report and related tools, but this is more of a product/marketing update than a material near-term earnings driver. Microsoft's New AI in Education Report highlights widespread adoption and increasing demand for support
• Negative Sentiment: Fresh legal headlines are pressuring sentiment, as multiple law firms publicized securities class action claims tied to alleged investor harm and Copilot-related disclosures. Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman LLC Urges Microsoft Corporation Investors to Act: Class Action Filed Alleging Investor Harm
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is facing renewed skepticism around its quantum-computing claims after a Nature-linked critique questioned the scientific basis of its earlier breakthrough announcement. Microsoft's quantum computing technology called into question, again
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also reacting to broader concerns that heavy AI infrastructure spending could weigh on free cash flow and margin trends, even if it supports future growth. Chamath Says Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft Aren’t Bleeding Cash — They’re Building Moats

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 1st. They set a "market outperform" rating for the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Phillip Securities raised Microsoft to a "buy" rating and set a $485.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $600.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Forty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $561.20.

Microsoft Profile

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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