Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Holdings Cut by Tompkins Financial Corp

Key Points

• Tompkins Financial trimmed its Microsoft stake by 1.1%, selling 1,296 shares, but retained 111,714 shares worth about $57.3 million; Microsoft remains 4% of its portfolio.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive: Microsoft has a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $609.54. Its latest quarter also beat earnings and revenue estimates, with revenue up 18.8% year over year.
• Reports that Microsoft is scaling back some third-party AI-computing arrangements have raised questions about AI demand, spending, and returns, though the shift could help control costs and strengthen oversight of infrastructure.

Tompkins Financial Corp reduced its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 111,714 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,296 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 4.0% of Tompkins Financial Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Tompkins Financial Corp's holdings in Microsoft were worth $57,298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in Microsoft by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 315,653,206 shares of the software giant's stock worth $117,744,959,000 after buying an additional 8,944,917 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,338,370,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 64,375,360 shares of the software giant's stock worth $24,013,297,000 after acquiring an additional 543,172 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth $18,306,443,000. Finally, Amundi increased its position in Microsoft by 12.0% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 46,694,778 shares of the software giant's stock worth $17,418,076,000 after acquiring an additional 5,019,702 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Microsoft from $570.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Microsoft from $680.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. William Blair assumed coverage on Microsoft in a report on Monday, October 5th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $650.00 price objective (up from $610.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $609.54.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s free-cash-flow position may offer some reassurance: an analysis notes that several other major AI hyperscalers are generating negative free cash flow, while Microsoft is generating positive cash flow. Is Microsoft Getting Enough Credit for Better Free Cash Flow Compared to its Peers?
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports say Microsoft plans to reduce the number of neocloud partners it uses, wind down rented AI capacity from Oracle, and declined a Texas data-center expansion with Nscale. This could help control costs and give Microsoft tighter oversight as it builds its own infrastructure, but the implications for capacity growth remain uncertain. Microsoft plans to use fewer neoclouds as AI buildout shows signs of strain
• Negative Sentiment: Investors may read the canceled or reduced AI-computing commitments as a sign that Microsoft is reassessing demand, project timing, or returns on its data-center spending. The shift comes as reports highlight construction delays and the rising cost of meeting a growing AI backlog, intensifying scrutiny of whether heavy investment will pay off. Microsoft is winding down Oracle deal to rent AI cloud capacity, Bloomberg News reports
• Negative Sentiment: Broader unease around AI spending and tech-market volatility may also weigh on MSFT, as investors question the scale of data-center investment relative to future cash returns. Microsoft and Oracle's AI ambitions are suddenly a lot more expensive

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT traded down $5.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $530.61. The company had a trading volume of 26,926,992 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,422,492. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $559.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The company's 50-day moving average is $516.65 and its 200-day moving average is $440.18. The company has a market capitalization of $3.94 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.05.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $92.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.28% and a net margin of 41.17%. Microsoft's revenue was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.13 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.89 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares of the company's stock, valued at $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 135,504 shares of company stock valued at $68,138,024. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Company Profile

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.

Microsoft serves customers around the world through its products, online platforms, and network of business partners.

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