Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is BTC Capital Management Inc.'s 5th Largest Position

Key Points

• BTC Capital Management Inc. increased its Microsoft stake by 26.5% in the first quarter, making MSFT its 5th largest position at about 3.8% of the portfolio. The firm reported holding 151,366 shares worth roughly $56.0 million.
• Microsoft continues to attract heavy institutional ownership, with large investors like Vanguard, State Street, and Geode also adding shares. Overall, hedge funds and institutions own 71.13% of the stock.
• Analysts remain broadly constructive, with Microsoft carrying an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $560.86. The company also beat recent earnings expectations, reporting $4.27 EPS on revenue of $82.89 billion.

BTC Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 26.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 151,366 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 31,736 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 3.8% of BTC Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. BTC Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $56,014,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $347,211,391,000 after purchasing an additional 15,955,898 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Microsoft by 2.1% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 1.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,911,142 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings 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 worth $58,624,690,000 after buying an additional 980,439 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $50,664,631,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of Microsoft 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. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the business's 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Microsoft from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. DZ Bank reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $641.00 to $646.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Microsoft from a "market perform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Forty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $560.86.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $373.02 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $349.20 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.77 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.20, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $408.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $419.37.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion during 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%. Microsoft's revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.67%.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several reports highlighted continued strength in Microsoft’s Azure cloud and AI businesses, with bullish commentary saying demand remains robust and that the recent selloff may be creating a more attractive entry point. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and investors cited Microsoft’s security business as a potential growth driver, while recent partnership news and product integrations suggest the company is still expanding its enterprise ecosystem. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Some Wall Street coverage remained constructive, with firms such as Deutsche Bank and Erste Group lifting their outlooks, reinforcing the view that Microsoft’s long-term earnings power remains intact. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft also announced product and ecosystem updates, including a new Marketplace listing and broader AI/security-related integrations, which are supportive but not likely to move the stock on their own. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several opinion pieces argued the stock may be oversold and could rebound, but these were largely valuation-driven commentary rather than new fundamental catalysts. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is facing renewed scrutiny over AI spending, with multiple stories noting the stock’s sharp June decline as investors worry that massive AI capex is not translating into profits quickly enough. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms and reports flagged securities-fraud class actions tied to alleged misstatements about Copilot and Azure, adding legal uncertainty and potential headline risk. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Additional pressure came from reports of another round of job cuts and from antitrust attention in Europe, both of which can weigh on sentiment even if they help costs over time. Article Title

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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