Heartland Bank & Trust Co Grows Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Heartland Bank & Trust increased its Microsoft position by 38.9% in the first quarter, owning 39,675 shares valued at approximately $14.7 million. Microsoft now represents 3.3% of the bank’s portfolio, while institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 71.13% of the stock.
• Microsoft delivered a strong quarterly performance, reporting $90.01 billion in revenue and $4.74 in EPS, beating analyst estimates of $87.62 billion and $4.24, respectively. Revenue rose 17.7% year over year, supported by cloud and AI demand, while Azure growth exceeded expectations.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $558.64 price target, but investors should weigh risks including heavy AI infrastructure spending, data-center constraints, regulatory scrutiny, potential security issues and recent insider selling. Microsoft also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, implying a 0.8% yield.

Heartland Bank & Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 38.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,675 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 11,113 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 3.3% of Heartland Bank & Trust Co's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Heartland Bank & Trust Co's holdings in Microsoft were worth $14,686,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,942,580 shares of the software giant's stock worth $347,211,391,000 after buying an additional 15,955,898 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings 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 worth $148,060,557,000 after buying an additional 6,388,930 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,618,400 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $88,056,019,000 after acquiring an additional 1,911,142 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 121,220,561 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $58,624,690,000 after acquiring an additional 980,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $50,664,631,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $464.72 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $397.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $405.45.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

More Microsoft News

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

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 47,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. This trade represents a 8.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial lowered Microsoft from a "market perform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Microsoft from $646.00 to $647.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. China Renaissance cut their price target on Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wolfe Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore set a $528.00 price objective on Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $558.64.

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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