Clearstead Trust LLC Acquires 2,501 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Clearstead Trust increased its Microsoft stake by 4.4% in the first quarter, adding 2,501 shares to hold 59,955 shares valued at approximately $22.2 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft reported a strong quarterly performance, with revenue of $90.01 billion and EPS of $4.74, exceeding analyst estimates. Azure revenue grew 43% year over year, while management highlighted continued momentum in cloud and enterprise AI demand.
• Analysts maintain a broadly bullish outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $558.64 price target. However, insiders have sold shares recently, and the company faces risks including heavy AI infrastructure spending, data-center constraints, regulatory scrutiny and a reported cloud-security flaw.

Clearstead Trust LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 4.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 59,955 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 2,501 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 3.6% of Clearstead Trust LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Clearstead Trust LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $22,193,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,942,580 shares of the software giant's stock worth $347,211,391,000 after acquiring an additional 15,955,898 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 306,150,608 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $148,060,557,000 after purchasing an additional 6,388,930 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,618,400 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $88,056,019,000 after purchasing an additional 1,911,142 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 121,220,561 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $58,624,690,000 after purchasing an additional 980,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,664,631,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

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

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $464.72 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The stock has a market cap of $3.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.13. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $397.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $405.96.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $640.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial cut Microsoft from a "market perform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Argus dropped their target price on Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $586.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $575.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $558.64.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure growth exceeded expectations. Azure revenue increased 43% year over year, and annual Azure sales surpassed $100 billion for the first time. Management also guided to approximately 45% Azure growth in the next quarter, reinforcing confidence in Microsoft’s cloud and enterprise AI demand. Microsoft Shares Jump After Strong Outlook and Solid AI-Driven Growth
• Positive Sentiment: The earnings beat was substantial. Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $90.01 billion and adjusted EPS of $4.74, above analyst estimates of $87.62 billion and $4.24, respectively. Net income reportedly rose 31%, while revenue increased about 18% year over year. Microsoft Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates as Cloud and AI Drive Results
• Positive Sentiment: AI monetization and financial discipline eased investor concerns. Microsoft 365 Copilot surpassed 30 million paid seats, its commercial remaining performance obligation reached $678 billion—up 84% year over year—and management held its capital-expenditure outlook broadly steady while emphasizing continued cash generation. Investors viewed this as a better balance between infrastructure investment and returns than some peers have demonstrated. Microsoft Eases AI Spending Concerns
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts largely reaffirmed bullish views, with several price-target increases, although estimates remain wide. Microsoft’s stock is now trading well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages after a historic rally, raising the possibility of increased volatility or profit-taking.
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft continues to face risks from data-center power constraints, chip costs, regulatory scrutiny and the enormous scale of AI investment. A reported cloud-security flaw that could have exposed customers adds another operational concern. Cyber Firm Wiz Reports Microsoft Cloud Flaw
• Negative Sentiment: Several law firms publicized a securities class-action lawsuit concerning investors who purchased Microsoft shares between May 1, 2025, and January 28, 2026, with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. Such announcements may create reputational and legal overhang, although they have not offset the earnings-driven optimism. Microsoft Securities Class Action Deadline

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).

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