Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Somerset Trust Co’s 2nd Largest Position

Somerset Trust Co boosted its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 35,883 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,710 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 3.8% of Somerset Trust Co’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Somerset Trust Co’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $13,385,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Bernzott Capital Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% during the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 37,310 shares of company stock valued at $17,256,219. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $484.31 on Thursday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $553.72. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $415.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $408.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.60 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.65 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $502.00 to $522.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Dbs Bank reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Arete Research boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $730.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $560.27.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley identified a bullish technical signal across several megacap technology stocks, including Microsoft, potentially supporting further gains as institutional positioning improves. A Bullish Signal Could Point to Gains Ahead for These Big Tech Stocks
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s roughly $678 billion Azure backlog gives investors greater visibility into future cloud and AI revenue, helping counter fears that hyperscalers may struggle to earn adequate returns on AI infrastructure spending. Microsoft Stock Rises as $678 Billion Backlog Supports AI Spending
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s internally developed AI chips are reported to deliver efficiency gains of up to 40% versus reliance on OpenAI-related infrastructure. Greater use of its own technology could improve capacity, margins and control over the AI stack. Microsoft’s Own AI Chips Are Driving Efficiency Gains
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and investors continue to highlight Azure’s more-than-$100 billion annual revenue milestone, accelerating Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption and Microsoft’s ability to monetize AI through its broad enterprise software base.
• Positive Sentiment: New Azure and Microsoft Marketplace integrations, including Dirac’s AI process-planning platform and other enterprise applications, reinforce demand for Microsoft’s cloud ecosystem. An investment manager also maintained exposure to Microsoft, while Altarock Partners increased its stake. Dirac Brings AI-Driven Process Planning to Microsoft Azure
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is changing its AI data-center policy by reducing nondisclosure requirements and emphasizing community engagement. The approach may ease regulatory and local opposition, but could increase transparency and complicate facility expansion.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that heavy AI capital expenditures may outpace revenue and cash-flow returns. A separate comparison argued Oracle currently offers stronger AI backlog growth and valuation, potentially making Microsoft less attractive to some buyers.
• Negative Sentiment: Beijing is reportedly accelerating the replacement of Microsoft Windows in Chinese government systems, creating a geopolitical and regional-sales headwind. The departure of Microsoft AI’s chief marketing officer also introduces some execution uncertainty around consumer AI adoption.

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).