Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Private Trust Co. NA's 2nd Largest Position

Key Points

• Private Trust Co. NA trimmed its Microsoft stake by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, but MSFT remains its 2nd-largest holding at 3.1% of the portfolio, worth about $35.6 million.
• Microsoft’s latest earnings beat expectations, reporting $4.27 EPS and $82.89 billion in revenue, both above consensus, with revenue up 18.3% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and average price target of $562.69.

Private Trust Co. NA cut its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 73,694 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,475 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 3.1% of Private Trust Co. NA's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Private Trust Co. NA's holdings in Microsoft were worth $35,640,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 691,386,214 shares of the software giant's stock worth $259,539,471,000 after buying an additional 7,314,509 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 299,196,519 shares of the software giant's stock worth $148,823,341,000 after buying an additional 3,166,275 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $88,714,256,000 after buying an additional 3,532,054 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth about $50,493,678,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock worth $35,316,535,000 after buying an additional 11,600,470 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $415.00 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $356.28 and a 1 year 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. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $396.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $445.39. The firm has a market cap of $3.08 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.70, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $82.89 billion during 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.46 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.67%.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft continues to draw bullish analyst commentary, with multiple firms raising or reaffirming price targets after the company’s strong earnings beat and Azure growth, reinforcing the view that core business momentum remains solid.
• Positive Sentiment: New reports suggest Microsoft’s AI ecosystem is still gaining traction, including partner milestones tied to Copilot and AI cloud services, which supports the case for continued enterprise adoption.
• Positive Sentiment: Several hedge funds and asset managers have recently added to Microsoft positions, indicating that some large investors still view MSFT as a long-term AI and cloud leader.
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft partnered with CAISI and AISI to advance AI model testing standards, a policy-and-safety focused update that may help its enterprise credibility but is unlikely to move the stock on its own.
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft is considering adjustments to its renewable-energy targets and offering voluntary retirement packages reflect ongoing cost and infrastructure pressures, but these items are more strategic than immediately material to revenue.
• Negative Sentiment: Market attention is centered on TCI’s reduced stake and the broader “AI anxiety” trade, with investors worried Microsoft may be spending heavily on AI infrastructure before the payoff becomes clearer.
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary also points to temporary margin pressure from elevated AI and data-center spending, which could weigh on near-term profitability even as growth remains strong.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, May 4th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Microsoft from $675.00 to $575.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Microsoft from $650.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $562.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Company 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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