Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Trust Co. of Vermont's 3rd Largest Position

Key Points

• Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its Microsoft stake to 237,666 shares (worth $114.94M), making MSFT 4.8% of its portfolio and the firm's 3rd largest holding.
• Microsoft beat estimates with quarterly EPS of $4.14 versus $3.86 and revenue of $81.27B (+16.7% YoY); the company has a $2.85T market cap and a consensus analyst rating of Moderate Buy with an average target of $586.26.
• Microsoft announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 (annualized $3.64) with an ex-dividend date of May 21, implying a yield of about 0.9%.

Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 237,666 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 4,027 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 4.8% of Trust Co. of Vermont's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Trust Co. of Vermont's holdings in Microsoft were worth $114,940,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 51.3% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. University of Illinois Foundation purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Stance Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at $54,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 3.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $384.37 on Tuesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $355.67 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $391.33 and a 200 day moving average of $456.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.85 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.39.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.28. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. The company had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.23 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 22.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $660.00 to $635.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Wedbush reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $575.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $650.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $586.26.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Unusually heavy bullish options flow: traders bought roughly 811,669 MSFT call options Monday (about +31% vs. average), signaling short‑term investor conviction and speculative buying that can lift the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Investor/market commentary is bullish — some investors now say it’s time to pounce after the pullback, framing MSFT as a value play with long-term AI and Azure upside. Microsoft Stock (MSFT) Rebound Gains Steam
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst backing and buy‑the‑dip narratives: Bernstein and other bull cases argue AI capex fears are over‑priced and the pullback creates a margin of safety; several firms maintain bullish ratings and lofty price targets (median target still well above current levels). ‘This Looks Worse Than It Is,’ Says Bernstein
• Positive Sentiment: Positive fundamentals on AI monetization: coverage highlights Copilot, Azure growth and a sizable AI backlog as drivers of revenue and margins — supporting the bull narrative that near‑term noise may not derail long‑term cash flow. This Is How Microsoft Is Making Money from AI Right Now
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming catalyst: Microsoft reports earnings later this month (April 29) — results and Azure growth commentary could amplify moves in either direction, so many traders are positioning ahead of the print. Should You Buy Microsoft Stock Before April 29?
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector tailwind: tech stocks were broadly firmer late Monday, which often lifts large-cap names like MSFT alongside the group. Sector Update: Tech Stocks Gain Late Afternoon
• Negative Sentiment: OpenAI partnership friction: a leaked internal memo and reporting that OpenAI sees Microsoft as limiting its enterprise reach — plus OpenAI’s pivot toward Amazon/AWS — raise strategic risk to MSFT’s exclusive‑access narrative and could pressure future AI revenue assumptions. OpenAI touts Amazon alliance in memo, says Microsoft has 'limited our ability'
• Negative Sentiment: Competition and product overlap: Anthropic and others are expanding into Office/enterprise integrations (e.g., Claude for Word), which could cap some of Microsoft’s Copilot upside and add competitive pressure. Anthropic Launches Claude for Word
• Negative Sentiment: AI capex and margin concerns: social and analyst discussion flag heavy AI infrastructure spending and a technical downtrend; if capex keeps compressing margins or Azure growth disappoints, downside could deepen before recovery. Microsoft Stock Opinions on AI Capex-Driven Drawdown

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

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

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).

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.