Ketron Financial Invests $18.45 Million in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Ketron Financial opened a new position in Microsoft during the fourth quarter, buying 38,155 shares valued at about $18.45 million. Microsoft now makes up roughly 6.1% of the firm’s portfolio and is its fourth-largest holding.
• Institutional ownership remains strong, with 71.13% of Microsoft shares held by institutions. Several other investors also increased or initiated stakes in the company during the quarter.
• Microsoft’s fundamentals and outlook remain solid: the company beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, and analysts still rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $561.20, despite some recent target cuts and insider selling.

Ketron Financial bought a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 38,155 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $18,452,000. Microsoft comprises approximately 6.1% of Ketron Financial's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 12,767 shares of the software giant's stock worth $6,174,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. Coastline Complete Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $1,515,000. Barnes Wealth Management Group Inc grew its stake in Microsoft by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Barnes Wealth Management Group Inc now owns 3,442 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,665,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. SG Trading Solutions LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $24,342,000. Finally, Titan Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $8,847,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total transaction of $1,812,780.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. This represents a 8.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. China Renaissance cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Microsoft from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Dbs Bank reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Forty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $561.20.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT opened at $379.40 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.82 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.58, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.11. 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 50-day moving average price of $412.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $425.58. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $356.28 and a twelve month high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted 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 analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.46 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.67%.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: New reporting suggests Microsoft is still benefiting from strong AI demand, including ByteDance spending more than $1 billion annually on Azure AI services and broader commentary that Azure growth and AI run-rate remain major drivers of investor interest. Microsoft Builds $1 Billion-Plus AI Business With ByteDance
• Positive Sentiment: Several pieces argued Microsoft’s pullback may be creating a buying opportunity because the company still has strong cash flow, dividend growth, and discounted valuation relative to its AI prospects. Microsoft's Boring Stock Story May Be Its Biggest Strength
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft also drew attention for product and ecosystem updates, including a possible PayPal integration for Xbox buy-now-pay-later checkout and new Teams features, but these are not likely near-term stock movers. Microsoft Sizes Up PayPal as Xbox Leak Exposes Buy Now Pay Later Plans
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms announced or promoted securities class actions tied to Microsoft, alleging investors were harmed by misleading AI/Copilot-related statements during the May 2025 to January 2026 period. These legal headlines can weigh on sentiment. Portnoy Law Firm Announces Class Action on Behalf of Microsoft Corporation Investors
• Negative Sentiment: Another negative overhang is the claim that Copilot functionality issues contributed to a sharp stock drop, reinforcing investor concerns about execution risk and AI spending efficiency. Investor Rights Alert: Microsoft Faces Securities Fraud Class Action after Copilot Issues
• Negative Sentiment: There is also renewed concern that Microsoft’s gaming strategy is under pressure, with coverage pointing to the Steam Machine and broader cost-cutting in gaming as threats to growth in that segment. The Biggest Threat to Microsoft’s Gaming Ambitions is the Steam Machine

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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