Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Position Lifted by Piscataqua Savings Bank

Key Points

• Piscataqua Savings Bank increased its Microsoft stake by 9.2% in Q4 to 23,082 shares (an additional 1,937 shares), making MSFT its largest position at about 7.8% of the portfolio worth $11.163 million.
• Institutional investors now own 71.13% of Microsoft, with several funds boosting holdings (notably PICTET BANK & TRUST +71.5% to 16,619 shares), signaling continued institutional accumulation.
• Market context: analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $586.26; Microsoft recently beat EPS estimates ($4.14 vs. $3.86) and announced a $0.91 quarterly dividend (ex‑dividend May 21, pay date June 11).

Piscataqua Savings Bank lifted its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 9.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,082 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 1,937 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 7.8% of Piscataqua Savings Bank's portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Piscataqua Savings Bank's holdings in Microsoft were worth $11,163,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Valicenti Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Valicenti Advisory Services Inc. now owns 53,515 shares of the software giant's stock worth $25,881,000 after buying an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 18,016 shares of the software giant's stock worth $8,227,000 after buying an additional 1,232 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 237,666 shares of the software giant's stock worth $114,940,000 after buying an additional 4,027 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY now owns 142,717 shares of the software giant's stock worth $69,021,000 after buying an additional 787 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PICTET BANK & TRUST Ltd grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 71.5% in the 4th quarter. PICTET BANK & TRUST Ltd now owns 16,619 shares of the software giant's stock worth $8,005,000 after buying an additional 6,926 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $530.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a "hold" rating and set a $392.00 target price (down from $540.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $575.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $540.00 target price on shares of Microsoft and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $586.26.

Microsoft Stock Up 3.6%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $384.37 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $2.85 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $355.67 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company's 50 day moving average is $391.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $456.51.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 22.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate 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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