Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.

Key Points

• Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada trimmed its Microsoft stake by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, but Microsoft remains its largest holding at 6.1% of assets, worth about $295.9 million.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.27 beating estimates and revenue of $82.89 billion topping expectations, while revenue rose 18.3% year over year.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, payable June 11, and analysts maintain an overall Moderate Buy rating with a consensus price target of $562.69.

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. reduced its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 618,447 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 3,001 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 6.1% of Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $295,933,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,031,541 shares of the software giant's stock worth $498,875,000 after acquiring an additional 151,592 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Funds Management LTD grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Funds Management LTD now owns 445,659 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $216,033,000 after purchasing an additional 65,771 shares during the last quarter. Shelton Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Shelton Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,682 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,264,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 990,128 shares of the software giant's stock worth $473,786,000 after purchasing an additional 15,857 shares during the period. Finally, J.M. Arbour LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $1,610,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.4%

MSFT opened at $415.00 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.08 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $396.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $445.39. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $356.28 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The company had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.46 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Microsoft News Roundup

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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on MSFT. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $515.00 target price (down from $630.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, April 27th. Truist Financial cut 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. President Capital increased their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $562.69.

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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