Blue Trust Inc. Purchases 9,703 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Blue Trust Inc. increased its Microsoft stake by 9.2% in the first quarter, buying 9,703 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 114,793 shares worth about $42.5 million.
• Microsoft continues to attract strong institutional interest, with 71.13% of shares owned by institutions, even as some insiders recently sold stock, including CEO Judson Althoff and EVP Takeshi Numoto.
• Wall Street remains broadly bullish on Microsoft, with 41 Buy ratings and a consensus Moderate Buy target of $561.20, despite a recent share price drop and some mixed sentiment around AI spending and legal headlines.

Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 9.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 114,793 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 9,703 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 0.5% of Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $42,493,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 287.0% during the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. This trade represents a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $515.00 price target (down from $630.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Bank of America began coverage on Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $500.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Microsoft from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Forty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $561.20.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft continues to be framed as a long-term AI winner, with commentary highlighting strong Azure growth, a multi-billion-dollar AI revenue run rate, and the company’s deep role in enterprise AI adoption. Got $1,000? 2 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks to Buy Right Now and Hold for the Next Decade.
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s new 20-year Chevron power deal for a Texas AI data center reinforces confidence that it is still expanding aggressively to support future AI demand, which could help drive long-term cloud revenue. Microsoft Stock In Focus After Inking 20-Yr, 2.67 GW Power Deal With Chevron To Fuel AI Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is also getting support from bullish market commentary that says the stock may be oversold and could rebound as investors distinguish between short-term pressure and long-term fundamentals. Dan Ives Believes MSFT Is The Most Oversold Large-Cap Stock, Draws Parallels To 'Negative' Narratives Around GOOGL A Year Ago
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft announced a new AI-in-education report and related tools, but this is more of a product/marketing update than a material near-term earnings driver. Microsoft's New AI in Education Report highlights widespread adoption and increasing demand for support
• Negative Sentiment: Fresh legal headlines are pressuring sentiment, as multiple law firms publicized securities class action claims tied to alleged investor harm and Copilot-related disclosures. Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman LLC Urges Microsoft Corporation Investors to Act: Class Action Filed Alleging Investor Harm
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is facing renewed skepticism around its quantum-computing claims after a Nature-linked critique questioned the scientific basis of its earlier breakthrough announcement. Microsoft's quantum computing technology called into question, again
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also reacting to broader concerns that heavy AI infrastructure spending could weigh on free cash flow and margin trends, even if it supports future growth. Chamath Says Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft Aren’t Bleeding Cash — They’re Building Moats

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $365.12 on Thursday. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $356.28 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The stock's 50 day moving average is $411.93 and its 200-day moving average is $422.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.71 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.73, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.46 EPS. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th 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, August 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.67%.

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).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.