Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stake Lifted by Midwest Trust Co

Key Points

• Midwest Trust Co increased its Microsoft stake by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, bringing its total to 740,195 shares worth about $358 million. Microsoft is now the firm’s second-largest holding and accounts for 4.5% of its portfolio.
• Microsoft’s recent Build announcements were viewed positively, with the company expanding its AI platform through proprietary models, agentic tools, and new partnerships with Nvidia, Mayo Clinic, and enterprise software providers. These moves could support stronger cloud demand and help improve margins over time.
• Despite some insider selling and a few analysts trimming price targets, the overall Wall Street view remains constructive: Microsoft has 40 Buy ratings and a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company also beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $4.27 EPS on revenue of $82.89 billion, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share.

Midwest Trust Co lifted its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 740,195 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 8,191 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 4.5% of Midwest Trust Co's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Midwest Trust Co's holdings in Microsoft were worth $357,973,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. BLVD Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. BLVD Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,169 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,641,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. now owns 6,509 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $3,371,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. ARK & TLK Investments LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 1.0% during the third quarter. ARK & TLK Investments LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,002,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Rochester Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 2.9% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s Build announcements suggest it is broadening its AI platform with proprietary models and agentic tools, which could reduce reliance on OpenAI and improve margins over time.
• Positive Sentiment: New partnerships and integrations with Nvidia, healthcare groups like Mayo Clinic, and third-party enterprise tools expand Microsoft’s ecosystem and may support future cloud demand.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains constructive, with several reports arguing that Microsoft’s AI opportunity and Azure growth still look underappreciated. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: The company’s quantum-computing update and AI infrastructure ambitions are long-term catalysts, but they are not expected to contribute meaningfully to near-term earnings. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors appear to be taking profits after the Build rally and remain cautious about Microsoft’s heavy AI spending and execution risk.
• Negative Sentiment: Judson Althoff’s disclosed share sale may add to short-term sentiment pressure, even though the transaction was relatively small compared with his remaining holdings. Article Title

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $575.00 to $505.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $595.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $515.00 price target (down from $630.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $515.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Forty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $561.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 29,083 shares of company stock worth $12,710,152. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $427.34 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $405.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $432.76. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $356.28 and a one 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 has a market cap of $3.17 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.46 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. 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 presently 21.67%.

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).

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