Park National Corp OH Buys 6,335 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Park National Corp OH increased its Microsoft stake by 2.6% in the first quarter, adding 6,335 shares to bring its total to 251,543 shares valued at about $93.1 million. Microsoft now ranks as the firm’s 6th-largest holding and makes up roughly 2.8% of its portfolio.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with multiple firms reiterating bullish ratings and the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus. The average price target is $561.20, with some targets as high as $650.
• Microsoft continues to show strong fundamentals, reporting earnings per share of $4.27 on revenue of $82.89 billion, both above expectations. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, payable September 10, for an annualized yield of about 1.0%.

Park National Corp OH boosted its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 251,543 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 6,335 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 2.8% of Park National Corp OH's holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Park National Corp OH's holdings in Microsoft were worth $93,114,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Bernzott Capital Advisors purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $502.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Citizens Jmp assumed coverage on Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 1st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $550.00 price objective on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their target price on Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Forty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $561.20.

Microsoft News Summary

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Trading Down 2.4%

Microsoft stock opened at $365.12 on Thursday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $356.28 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The firm's 50-day moving average is $411.93 and its 200-day moving average is $422.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28. The company has a market cap of $2.71 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.73, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

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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