M&T Bank Corp Has $42.33 Million Stock Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• M&T Bank Corp sharply reduced its Microsoft stake in the fourth quarter, selling 1.88 million shares and cutting its position by 95.6%. It still held 87,517 shares worth about $42.33 million at quarter-end.
• Microsoft posted strong quarterly results, reporting EPS of $4.27 versus $4.06 expected and revenue of $82.89 billion, topping estimates. Revenue rose 18.3% year over year, and the company also maintained a strong net margin of 39.34%.
• Insiders and analysts remain active on the stock, with one executive selling shares and a director buying shares, while analysts largely kept bullish ratings. The stock also carries a modest dividend yield of 0.9% and a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with a $560.88 price target.

M&T Bank Corp trimmed its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 95.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 87,517 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,879,233 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Microsoft were worth $42,325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Microsoft by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 691,386,214 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $259,539,471,000 after buying an additional 7,314,509 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Microsoft by 1.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 299,196,519 shares of the software giant's stock worth $148,823,341,000 after buying an additional 3,166,275 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 179,001,751 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $88,714,256,000 after buying an additional 3,532,054 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at about $50,493,678,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $35,316,535,000 after buying an additional 11,600,470 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 83,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT stock opened at $421.92 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.13 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The business has a 50 day moving average of $398.18 and a 200-day moving average of $441.39. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $356.28 and a 12-month high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.67%.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bill Ackman revealed a new multi-billion-dollar stake in Microsoft (MSFT), saying the company looks attractively valued and highlighting Azure, Microsoft 365, and AI as key growth drivers. Reuters: Ackman's Pershing Square takes stake in Microsoft, citing 'compelling' valuation
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continued to argue that Microsoft’s AI infrastructure, Azure growth, and OpenAI exposure could support further upside, with some seeing the stock’s weaker recent performance as a buying opportunity. TipRanks: Microsoft Buy Rating Reiterated as AI and Cloud Momentum Builds
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft also announced a board addition, appointing former EY chief Carmine Di Sibio to its board of directors, which is a governance update but not an immediate operating catalyst. PR Newswire: Microsoft announces appointment of Carmine Di Sibio to board of directors
• Negative Sentiment: The UK opened an antitrust probe into Microsoft’s business software and cloud practices, creating a potential regulatory overhang for the stock. Reuters: UK opens antitrust probe into Microsoft's business software
• Negative Sentiment: LinkedIn, a Microsoft-owned unit, announced 5% workforce cuts, reinforcing that the company is still trimming costs even as it ramps AI spending. Reuters: LinkedIn to lay off 5% of workforce amid tech industry cuts

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, January 18th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $515.00 price objective (down from $630.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, April 27th. Evercore decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $580.00 to $510.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Thirty-nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $560.88.

Microsoft Company 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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