Webster Bank N. A. Has $36.35 Million Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Webster Bank N. A. cut its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 70,185 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,489 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 3.5% of Webster Bank N. A.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $36,352,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Wellington Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter worth about $9,941,000. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 94,120 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,816,000 after acquiring an additional 2,373 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its stake in Microsoft by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 922,524 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $457,119,000 after purchasing an additional 33,382 shares in the last quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 18,340 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,499,000 after purchasing an additional 2,247 shares during the period. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 285,163 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $147,700,000 after purchasing an additional 11,770 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 beat on top and bottom line — revenue of ~$81.3B and EPS of $4.14 topped estimates; Azure growth remained robust and Microsoft Cloud crossed $50B quarterly, supporting the long?term AI/cloud revenue thesis. Microsoft beats Q2 earnings as Azure jumps 39% (Invezz)
• Positive Sentiment: OpenAI partnership and backlog — Microsoft is seeing meaningful gains from OpenAI (including a reported ~$7.6B benefit) and a much larger contracted backlog/RPO, which supports future revenue visibility tied to AI demand. This underpins many analyst “buy” views despite near-term noise. Microsoft gained $7.6 billion from OpenAI (TechCrunch)
• Neutral Sentiment: Product and infrastructure roadmap — new Maia 200 AI accelerator chips and multiple data?center approvals improve Microsoft’s ability to compete with cloud/AI peers, but benefits are medium? to long?term and won’t immediately offset elevated capex. Microsoft’s Maia 200: The Profit Engine AI Needs (MarketBeat)
• Negative Sentiment: Record AI capex and margin pressure — the company disclosed very high AI-related capital expenditures (~$37.5B reported), which, coupled with guidance that implies moderating revenue growth, spooked investors focused on near?term returns. That drove the post?earnings selloff. Microsoft shares fall 6% in Frankfurt after results (Reuters)
• Negative Sentiment: Relative disappointment vs. peers — Meta’s results and guidance were perceived as showing clearer near?term AI monetization (ads), which highlighted investors’ new rule: big AI spending must show accelerating growth. That contrast amplified selling pressure on Microsoft. Meta and Microsoft earnings highlight shifting investor mood on AI (Invezz)

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $481.63 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.58 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.07. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $477.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $500.68.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.71% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The business’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.23 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MSFT. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $600.00 target price on Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $600.00 price target (down previously from $650.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $625.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $690.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $605.37.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total value of $6,266,880.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 129,349 shares in the company, valued at $63,577,620.48. The trade was a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total transaction of $1,364,352.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 55,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,703,959.04. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 54,100 shares of company stock worth $27,598,872 over the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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).