Eastern Bank Sells 15,682 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Eastern Bank lowered its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 578,874 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 15,682 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 4.5% of Eastern Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $296,904,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,198 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,231,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 294,841 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $151,224,000 after buying an additional 1,686 shares during the period. Miller Global Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 17.3% in the third quarter. Miller Global Investments LLC now owns 2,205 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,131,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the period. RFG Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. RFG Holdings Inc. now owns 7,633 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,915,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Polaris Financial Partners acquired a new position in Microsoft in the third quarter worth approximately $4,493,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Amy Hood sold 7,305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $545.42, for a total value of $3,984,293.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 555,396 shares in the company, valued at approximately $302,924,086.32. The trade was a 1.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total value of $43,388,826.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. The trade was 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. Insiders sold a total of 135,504 shares of company stock valued at $68,138,024 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories 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 Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $530.61 on Friday. The company has a market cap 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.22. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $516.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $440.18. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $559.15.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software giant reported $4.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.72 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $92.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 41.17% and a return on equity of 31.28%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.13 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.98 dividend. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Microsoft from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Wolfe Research raised Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Microsoft from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Microsoft from $680.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty-six have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $609.54.

About Microsoft

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.