Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Mechanics Bank Trust Department

Mechanics Bank Trust Department lowered its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 4.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 71,689 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 3,408 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 5.2% of Mechanics Bank Trust Department’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Mechanics Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $37,131,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 386.7% in the 2nd quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. University of Illinois Foundation purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 155.7% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 156 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on Microsoft from $630.00 to $632.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Barclays cut their price objective on Microsoft from $625.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $640.00 to $630.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Melius Research boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $595.00 to $625.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $624.05.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $444.11 on Thursday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $555.45. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $480.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $501.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market cap of $3.30 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.48. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 35.71%.The firm had revenue of $77.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.49 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 25.89%.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major industry and healthcare partnerships bolster MSFT’s commercial AI narrative — Bristol Myers Squibb will use Microsoft’s AI radiology tools to speed lung cancer detection, a commercial validation for Azure/AI revenue mix. Bristol Myers partners with Microsoft for AI-driven lung cancer detection
• Positive Sentiment: Enterprise product integration: Board announced Board Agents built on Microsoft Foundry, signaling more platform-level demand for Azure agentic AI services. Board Collaborates with Microsoft to Bring Agentic AI Into the Core of Enterprise Planning
• Positive Sentiment: Marketplace and ISV ecosystem wins continue to expand commercial reach (Cobalt Teams integration, RKON Marketplace activity), supporting recurring revenue and GTM leverage. Cobalt Microsoft® Teams® Integration Now Available in the Microsoft Marketplace®
• Positive Sentiment: Top analysts still see long-term upside — Goldman Sachs reiterated Buy and keeps a high price target, reflecting belief that AI + cloud growth offsets higher power/capex. Microsoft: Maintaining a Buy Rating as AI and Cloud Growth Offset Structurally Higher Power Costs
• Neutral Sentiment: TD Cowen trimmed its price target (from $655 to $625) but kept a Buy rating, noting Azure capacity constraints that may keep the stock range-bound before earnings. TD Cowen Sees Microsoft (MSFT) Shares Range-Bound Ahead of Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are focused on MSFT’s upcoming earnings report on Jan. 28 — expectations are elevated, so results and commentary on Azure capacity/costs will likely drive near-term volatility. Dear Microsoft Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for January 28
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades/price-target cuts are weighing on sentiment — Rothschild & Co Redburn cut its PT to $450 and moved to Neutral, tightening near-term upside assumptions. Rothschild & Co Redburn adjusts price target on Microsoft to 450 from 500, maintains neutral rating
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Satya Nadella’s public warnings that AI could “lose social permission” if it burns energy without real-world benefits have raised regulatory/PR risk and highlighted rising energy/capex pressures for hyperscalers. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Warns AI Could Lose ‘Social Permission’ If It Burns Energy Without Real-World Benefits In Health And Education
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Azure growth and forward guidance previously fell short of expectations — plus capacity constraints — are pressuring near-term growth multiple assumptions. Microsoft (MSFT) Traded Lower as Its Reported Azure Cloud Growth and Forward Guidance Fell Short of Expectations

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $518.64, for a total value of $19,967,640.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 461,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $239,402,668.08. This trade represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total transaction of $6,266,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 129,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,577,620.48. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 54,100 shares of company stock worth $27,598,872. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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).