United Bank Has $9.34 Million Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• United Bank increased its Microsoft stake by 15.6% in the first quarter, owning 25,224 shares valued at approximately $9.34 million. Microsoft now represents about 3.1% of the bank’s portfolio and is its eighth-largest holding.
• Microsoft reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings of $4.27 per share and revenue of $82.89 billion, up 18.3% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, yielding approximately 1.0% annually.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with 42 Buy ratings and six Holds and a consensus price target of $555.40. Investors are focused on Azure growth and capital-expenditure guidance ahead of the July 29 earnings report, while insider selling and concerns about AI spending add risks.

United Bank grew its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 15.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,224 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 3,411 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 3.1% of United Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. United Bank's holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,337,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation bought a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $50,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total value of $1,812,780.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. This trade represents a 8.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $381.70 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The company has a market capitalization of $2.84 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.72, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.13. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $398.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $407.62.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $81.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.46 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.67%.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft joined 25 tech companies in urging U.S. policymakers not to impose broad restrictions on open-weight and open-source AI models, a stance that supports its broader AI ecosystem strategy and could help preserve flexibility for future product development. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft also backed a coalition letter with Nvidia, Meta, and other firms arguing that open-weight AI is important for U.S. leadership, reinforcing investor confidence that the company remains a major AI platform player rather than being boxed into one model provider. Business Insider article
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s expanded Databricks partnership extends a key cloud/data-AI relationship through the 2030s, which should help Azure adoption and strengthen long-term enterprise demand for Microsoft’s cloud services. TipRanks article
• Neutral Sentiment: Several previews ahead of Microsoft’s July 29 earnings report say the big investor focus will be FY2027 CapEx guidance and Azure growth, with analysts expecting strong results but worrying that AI infrastructure spending could weigh on free cash flow and margins. MarketBeat article
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms issued class-action alerts and deadline reminders tied to Microsoft securities-fraud claims, including allegations related to Copilot disclosures, which adds headline risk and may keep some investors cautious into earnings. GlobeNewswire article
• Negative Sentiment: Broader tech weakness tied to AI spending fears also weighed on Microsoft, as investors sold mega-cap names after seeing massive capital outlays across the sector and questioning near-term returns on AI investment. Fox Business article

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $646.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday. Argus lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $515.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday. President Capital lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $586.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $555.40.

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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