Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Whittier Trust Co.’s 4th Largest Position

Whittier Trust Co. decreased its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.6% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 974,500 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 15,628 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 4.1% of Whittier Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $363,372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 73,118 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $27,066,000 after buying an additional 10,750 shares during the last quarter. Dividend Assets Capital LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Dividend Assets Capital LLC now owns 69,792 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $25,835,000 after acquiring an additional 2,072 shares during the period. Marietta Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Marietta Investment Partners LLC now owns 52,321 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $19,368,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Columbia Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Columbia Bank now owns 42,122 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $15,592,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.5% in the first quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 31,339 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $11,601,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MSFT. DZ Bank restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Argus cut their price target on Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $650.00 to $625.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, July 6th. Forty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $557.96.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is still getting support from Wall Street, with some analysts and portfolio managers reiterating buy ratings and arguing that Azure demand, Copilot adoption, and Microsoft 365 tailwinds can support long-term earnings power. Article: Josh Baer Reiterates Buy on Microsoft, Citing AI Leadership, Azure/M365 Budget Tailwinds and Underappreciated Earnings Power
• Positive Sentiment: A CIO survey and other commentary pointed to strong Azure demand at multi-year highs, reinforcing the view that Microsoft’s cloud and AI platform remains a core beneficiary of enterprise spending. Article: Microsoft (MSFT) Stock Surges on Strong Azure Demand in Latest CIO Survey
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft also announced a multi-year AI infrastructure partnership with 3M, which investors viewed as another sign that its Azure ecosystem is expanding into real-world enterprise use cases. Article: Microsoft Stock Rebounds on 3M Optical Infrastructure Alliance
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella criticized Anthropic’s Fable restrictions and pushed for Microsoft to promote its own AI models more aggressively, highlighting the company’s effort to reduce reliance on outside AI vendors. Article: Microsoft’s Nadella rips Anthropic’s Fable restrictions in staff meeting: ‘Doesn’t make sense’
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft is training its sales force to push in-house AI models over OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic suggest a strategic shift toward better control over costs and monetization, but the market is still waiting for proof that this approach boosts returns. Article: Microsoft is reportedly training salespeople to talk down OpenAI and Anthropic
• Negative Sentiment: Several reports said analysts trimmed price targets ahead of earnings, and commentary stressed that investors are increasingly worried Microsoft’s AI spending spree could pressure margins before the payoff becomes visible. Article: Why Microsoft Is Playing a Different AI Game Than Big Tech—and Cash Flow Is the Test
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is facing added overhang from securities class-action deadlines and allegations tied to Copilot and Azure disclosures, which can keep pressure on sentiment even though these developments are not operational. Article: MSFT UPCOMING DEADLINE : The Gross Law Firm Alerts Microsoft Corporation Stockholders of Securities Class Action

Microsoft Stock Down 1.8%

MSFT stock opened at $393.82 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $349.20 and a one year high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $400.28 and its 200 day moving average is $411.30. The firm has a market cap of $2.93 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The business had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.71 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 21.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total value of $1,812,780.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares in the company, valued at $19,122,009.12. This represents a 8.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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).