Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stake Boosted by Clear Trail Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Clear Trail Advisors LLC increased its Microsoft stake by 8.4% in the first quarter, adding 3,352 shares to reach 43,236 shares valued at about $16.0 million.
• Microsoft’s latest quarterly results topped expectations, with EPS of $4.27 versus estimates of $4.06 and revenue of $82.89 billion, up 18.3% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, payable September 10, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus Moderate Buy rating despite concerns about AI-driven capex and margin pressure.

Clear Trail Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 8.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 43,236 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 3,352 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 2.7% of Clear Trail Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Clear Trail Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $16,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 700 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC now owns 431 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC now owns 697 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $337,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Pollock Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.8% in the third quarter. Pollock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,805 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,453,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 5.7%

MSFT opened at $372.97 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.77 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $349.20 and a one year high of $555.45. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $410.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $421.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft shares bounced as the broader memory and semiconductor market stabilized, helping relieve some of the pressure tied to AI infrastructure and component-cost fears.
• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush and other bullish commentators said the recent tech selloff may be a buying opportunity, arguing Microsoft remains a core AI leader despite near-term volatility. Dan Ives Says Microsoft And Meta Are Being Treated Like 'Bear Market' Stocks
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft was mentioned in new partnerships and product integrations, including Commvault, PitchBook, FPT, and ICON plc, reinforcing demand for Microsoft’s cloud and AI ecosystem. Microsoft Just Made Commvault a Native Azure Service. Here Is How to Play CVLT Stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft also drew attention from investors after Michael Burry disclosed a long position, which some traders viewed as a contrarian buy signal.
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple articles noted analysts still like the stock long term, but Wall Street remains focused on whether AI spending is destroying near-term margins and free cash flow. Wall Street Analysts Think Microsoft (MSFT) Is a Good Investment: Is It?
• Negative Sentiment: Stifel cut its Microsoft price target and warned that FY27 gross margin estimates may be too high because Azure growth is coming with heavier capex and margin pressure. Microsoft’s Stock Is Crippled
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft announced another worldwide Xbox price increase, citing soaring memory and storage costs, which adds to concerns that hardware inflation is squeezing the gaming business.
• Negative Sentiment: New legal and regulatory pressure also weighed on the stock, including an Italy antitrust probe into Microsoft 365 pricing and new shareholder class-action notices over alleged investor misinformation.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Phillip Securities raised shares of Microsoft to a "buy" rating and set a $485.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. DZ Bank reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $505.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Microsoft from $540.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Forty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $560.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 in the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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