Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Purchased by Eastern Bank

Eastern Bank boosted its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 637,020 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 5.3% of Eastern Bank’s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $308,076,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at about $50,493,678,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the first quarter valued at about $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 500.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $30,840,432,000 after purchasing an additional 49,618,571 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 49,640.3% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $14,905,904,000 after purchasing an additional 29,906,791 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Microsoft by 2.0% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 705,077,786 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $350,712,742,000 after purchasing an additional 13,691,572 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.2%

MSFT stock opened at $372.88 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.77 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.32, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.39. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $555.45. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $398.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $461.32.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.23 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $590.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. DZ Bank restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $615.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $632.00 to $659.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $588.97.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reworked OpenAI relationship and strategic AI positioning that could accelerate MSFT’s cloud/AI roadmap — a Barron’s write-up frames the company as entering a new AI phase, supporting revenue and long-term growth expectations. Microsoft Is on a New AI Journey After Reworked OpenAI Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic ESG purchase: Microsoft agreed to buy 626,000 tonnes of BECCS carbon removal credits from a Meadow Lake Tribal Council–Svante project — helps corporate net-zero profile and reduces regulatory/PR risk on climate commitments. Svante & Meadow Lake Tribal Council Partnership Agrees to Sell Microsoft 626,000 Tonnes of Carbon Removal Credits
• Positive Sentiment: Valuation/long-term buy case: Several analysts and investors highlight MSFT as attractively priced after a sizable pullback — Seeking Alpha and other outlets argue the company’s double-digit growth and margins make it a buy on the dip. Microsoft: Double-Digit Growth At A Rare Discount
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparative AI positioning: Coverage comparing Oracle vs Microsoft as AI/cloud plays underscores MSFT’s strengths but also highlights competitive dynamics and execution trade-offs — useful context but not an immediate catalyst. Oracle vs. Microsoft: Which Cloud Giant is the Better AI Play for 2026?
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/sector flow: MSFT features in bullish ETF/QQQ narratives — institutional buying and rotation into beaten-down tech names could support shares if macro volatility subsides. 5 Reasons the Invesco QQQ ETF Could Be Headed for a Triple-Digit Rally
• Negative Sentiment: Copilot safety/TOS headlines and security research have dented confidence — viral terms-of-service language and reports about AI-agent “trap” exploits targeting Copilot/M365 raise legal, reputational and product-risk questions. “For Entertainment Purposes Only”: Microsoft Stock (NASDAQ:MSFT) Slips as Copilot Warnings Emerge
• Negative Sentiment: Independent research (DeepMind framework) highlights potential ways AI agents can be weaponized, with examples noting M365 Copilot vulnerabilities — raises short-term security scrutiny and potential remediation costs. Deepmind’s ‘AI Agent Traps’ Paper Maps How Hackers Could Weaponize AI Agents Against Users
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical/physical-risk headlines: Iran’s IRGC threats to large AI hubs (projects backed by Microsoft/OpenAI/NVIDIA) and investor pressure over data-center water/power use add geopolitical and ESG risk layers that could increase costs or slow builds. Iran’s IRGC Targets $30 Billion Stargate Project Backed by OpenAI, Microsoft, and Nvidia Investors press Amazon, Microsoft and Google on water, power use in US data centers

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $5,045,695.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft 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).