Entrust Financial LLC Acquires Shares of 4,466 Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Entrust Financial LLC initiated a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter, buying 4,466 shares worth about $2.16 million. Microsoft now ranks as the firm's 10th-largest holding and makes up about 1.6% of its portfolio.
• Microsoft continues to draw heavy institutional interest, with large investors like Vanguard, State Street, Geode Capital, and Northern Trust all increasing their stakes; overall, 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutions.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on MSFT despite some mixed price-target changes, with the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target of $561.20. Meanwhile, recent insider selling and a 2.7% stock drop add some near-term caution.

Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,466 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $2,160,000. Microsoft accounts for about 1.6% of Entrust Financial LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,942,580 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $347,211,391,000 after purchasing an additional 15,955,898 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Microsoft by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 299,196,519 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $148,823,341,000 after purchasing an additional 3,166,275 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 179,001,751 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $88,714,256,000 after purchasing an additional 3,532,054 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $50,493,678,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Microsoft by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $35,316,535,000 after purchasing an additional 11,600,470 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MSFT. Evercore decreased their price target on Microsoft from $580.00 to $510.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Arete Research increased their price objective on Microsoft from $730.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Microsoft from $540.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Phillip Securities upgraded Microsoft to a "buy" rating and set a $485.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Forty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $561.20.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s Build 2026 announcements and related coverage continued to reinforce the company’s AI growth story, including new in-house models, agent tools, Windows upgrades, and enterprise AI infrastructure that could deepen its competitive position. Analysts Say Buy Microsoft Stock (MSFT) after Build 2026 Reinforces AI Growth Story
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple articles highlighted Microsoft’s AI revenue run rate crossing $37 billion, suggesting strong monetization from Azure, Copilot, and enterprise AI offerings. Microsoft's AI Revenue Run Rate Just Crossed $37 Billion. Is It the Best AI Stock to Buy Now?
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street sentiment remains supportive, with TD Cowen reiterating a buy rating and a $540 target, while other analysts and investors continue to frame Microsoft as a durable long-term AI and cloud leader. The Market Is Undervaluing Microsoft, Says Analyst
• Positive Sentiment: Bill Ackman’s bullish comments comparing Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon to long-term compounding opportunities also added to the constructive investment narrative around MSFT. Billionaire Investor Bill Ackman: Buying Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon Today Could Be Like Adding Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway 25 Years Ago
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft announced Reid Hoffman will leave its board after nearly a decade; the move appears planned, though it removes a board member closely associated with the LinkedIn/OpenAI relationship. LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman to step down from Microsoft's board
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is also attracting attention for broader AI ecosystem developments, including fusion power support from Helion and network-security integration for AI agents, which are positive long-term but not immediate stock catalysts. Helion, the Sam Altman-backed fusion startup, raises $465M to build a power plant for Microsoft
• Negative Sentiment: Several pieces flagged technical weakness in Microsoft’s chart and said the stock’s recent rejection at resistance could weigh on the broader software trade. Microsoft Stock Charts Look Vulnerable. Software Stocks Could Follow.
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary around Satya Nadella rebuking an internal “make people addicted” AI memo and renewed concern over Microsoft’s relationship with OpenAI may be creating some short-term reputational and partnership noise. Reid Hoffman to Leave Microsoft's Board of Directors

Microsoft Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $416.67 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.11. The stock's 50-day moving average is $407.63 and its 200-day moving average is $432.07. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $356.28 and a 52-week 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.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The firm's revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.67%.

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).

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