Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. Sells 364,081 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. reduced its Microsoft stake by 22.6% in the first quarter, selling 364,081 shares and leaving it with 1,249,443 shares worth about $449.6 million. Microsoft remains its second-largest holding and makes up 6.8% of its portfolio.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.27 beating estimates and revenue of $82.89 billion topping forecasts, while revenue rose 18.3% year over year. Analysts still see broad upside, with 41 Buy ratings and a consensus price target of $557.96.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, payable September 10, while insiders recently sold shares and analysts trimmed some price targets amid concerns about heavy AI spending and margin pressure.

Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. cut its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 22.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,249,443 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 364,081 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 6.8% of Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $449,611,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 14.3% during the 1st quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 843,324 shares of the software giant's stock worth $312,173,000 after acquiring an additional 105,471 shares in the last quarter. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co increased its stake in Microsoft by 31.7% in the 1st quarter. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co now owns 114,356 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $42,331,000 after purchasing an additional 27,495 shares in the last quarter. Cherokee Insurance Co raised its holdings in Microsoft by 3.0% during the first quarter. Cherokee Insurance Co now owns 20,825 shares of the software giant's stock worth $7,709,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Northstar Group Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft by 1.2% during the first quarter. Northstar Group Inc. now owns 12,120 shares of the software giant's stock worth $4,487,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.3% during the first quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 201,443 shares of the software giant's stock worth $74,568,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped 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. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $575.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Citizens Jmp started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, June 1st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $550.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $570.00 to $525.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed 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. Forty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $557.96.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.8%

MSFT opened at $393.82 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market cap of $2.93 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.44, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.13. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $555.45. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $400.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $411.30.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.46 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 21.67%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total transaction of $1,812,780.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. This trade represents a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is still getting support from Wall Street, with some analysts and portfolio managers reiterating buy ratings and arguing that Azure demand, Copilot adoption, and Microsoft 365 tailwinds can support long-term earnings power. Article: Josh Baer Reiterates Buy on Microsoft, Citing AI Leadership, Azure/M365 Budget Tailwinds and Underappreciated Earnings Power
• Positive Sentiment: A CIO survey and other commentary pointed to strong Azure demand at multi-year highs, reinforcing the view that Microsoft’s cloud and AI platform remains a core beneficiary of enterprise spending. Article: Microsoft (MSFT) Stock Surges on Strong Azure Demand in Latest CIO Survey
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft also announced a multi-year AI infrastructure partnership with 3M, which investors viewed as another sign that its Azure ecosystem is expanding into real-world enterprise use cases. Article: Microsoft Stock Rebounds on 3M Optical Infrastructure Alliance
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella criticized Anthropic’s Fable restrictions and pushed for Microsoft to promote its own AI models more aggressively, highlighting the company’s effort to reduce reliance on outside AI vendors. Article: Microsoft's Nadella rips Anthropic's Fable restrictions in staff meeting: 'Doesn't make sense'
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft is training its sales force to push in-house AI models over OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic suggest a strategic shift toward better control over costs and monetization, but the market is still waiting for proof that this approach boosts returns. Article: Microsoft is reportedly training salespeople to talk down OpenAI and Anthropic
• Negative Sentiment: Several reports said analysts trimmed price targets ahead of earnings, and commentary stressed that investors are increasingly worried Microsoft’s AI spending spree could pressure margins before the payoff becomes visible. Article: Why Microsoft Is Playing a Different AI Game Than Big Tech—and Cash Flow Is the Test
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is facing added overhang from securities class-action deadlines and allegations tied to Copilot and Azure disclosures, which can keep pressure on sentiment even though these developments are not operational. Article: MSFT UPCOMING DEADLINE : The Gross Law Firm Alerts Microsoft Corporation Stockholders of Securities Class Action

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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