Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Eastern Bank

Key Points

• Eastern Bank reduced its Microsoft stake by 5.2% in the second quarter, selling 32,366 shares and retaining 594,556 shares valued at approximately $221.8 million.
• Institutional ownership remains substantial, with investors holding 71.13% of Microsoft’s shares. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $560.27.
• Microsoft reported quarterly earnings of $4.74 per share and revenue of $90.01 billion, exceeding expectations, while declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share.

Eastern Bank lowered its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 594,556 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 32,366 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 3.4% of Eastern Bank's holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Eastern Bank's holdings in Microsoft were worth $221,781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,942,580 shares of the software giant's stock worth $347,211,391,000 after buying an additional 15,955,898 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 306,150,608 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $148,060,557,000 after acquiring an additional 6,388,930 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,618,400 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $88,056,019,000 after acquiring an additional 1,911,142 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 121,220,561 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $58,624,690,000 after acquiring an additional 980,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,664,631,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $575.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, August 10th. New Street Research decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $560.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 37,310 shares of company stock worth $17,256,219 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.3%

MSFT opened at $481.63 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $553.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market cap of $3.58 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.10. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $414.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $408.06.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.65 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure and Copilot momentum remain the primary catalysts. Azure reportedly surpassed $100 billion in annual revenue, while Microsoft 365 Copilot exceeded 30 million paid seats. Those milestones reinforce the view that Microsoft is beginning to monetize its AI investments at scale. Price Prediction: One Number Could Decide How High Microsoft Goes in 2027
• Positive Sentiment: Strong quarterly results continue to support the bull case. Microsoft’s latest report showed earnings per share of $4.74 versus a $4.24 consensus estimate and revenue of $90.01 billion, up 17.7% year over year. Cloud computing and AI helped drive roughly 30% profit growth. These Telltale Signs Cue Microsoft Investors Despite Earnings Surge
• Positive Sentiment: Enterprise adoption and partnerships are broadening demand. Swiss companies are increasing their use of Microsoft’s AI and cloud products, with governance and data sovereignty controls supporting adoption. S&P Global also expanded its integration of AI-ready data into Microsoft 365 Copilot workflows. Swiss Enterprises Prioritize Microsoft AI Governance
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and institutional sentiment remains constructive. William Blair reaffirmed a Buy rating, citing early AI monetization, while Altarock Partners increased its Microsoft position. Microsoft Buy Rating Reaffirmed

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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