Towne Trust Company N.A Has $11.94 Million Stock Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Towne Trust Company N.A. reduced its Microsoft stake by 4.8% in the first quarter, selling 1,616 shares and leaving it with 32,251 shares valued at about $11.94 million. Microsoft remains its second-largest holding, making up 3.8% of the portfolio.
• Microsoft continues to attract strong institutional and analyst support, with 71.13% of shares owned by institutions and a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy”. Forty-one analysts rate the stock a Buy, and the average price target stands at $560.86.
• The company posted solid quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, while also announcing a $0.91 quarterly dividend. However, the stock has recently been pressured by weak performance, legal overhangs, and questions about whether heavy AI spending will deliver strong returns.

Towne Trust Company N.A decreased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 4.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 32,251 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,616 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 3.8% of Towne Trust Company N.A's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Towne Trust Company N.A's holdings in Microsoft were worth $11,938,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 27.0% during the first quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant's stock worth $5,658,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 410.4% during the 3rd quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,144,000 after purchasing an additional 2,138 shares during the period. Wealth Group Ltd. grew its stake in Microsoft by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,374 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,000,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 23,097 shares of the software giant's stock worth $9,735,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on MSFT. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Microsoft to a "buy" rating and set a $485.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Raymond James Financial cut Microsoft from a "market perform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Forty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $560.86.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $390.49 on Monday. The company's fifty day moving average is $406.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $417.46. The company has a market cap of $2.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.13. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.46 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft launched a new AI deployment business, Microsoft Frontier Company, backed by $2.5 billion and staffed with about 6,000 engineers and industry experts to help enterprises select, implement, and improve AI tools. Investors are viewing this as a way to accelerate Azure and Copilot adoption while monetizing the enterprise AI buildout. Microsoft launches its own AI deployment company with $2.5 billion commitment
• Positive Sentiment: Several articles highlighted Microsoft as a top AI and growth stock, while others said the market is rotating from semiconductors back toward software. That is helping sentiment around MSFT as investors look for higher-quality AI beneficiaries with recurring enterprise revenue. Microsoft launches firm to help companies adopt AI with $2.5 billion
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is also reported to be overhauling Copilot to make its AI assistant more useful and easier to justify for customers. That could improve adoption, but it also underscores that AI products must now prove their value. Microsoft’s Copilot Reset Shows AI Tools Must Now Prove Their Worth
• Neutral Sentiment: There was also a new undersea cable partnership with Lightstorm to expand India-Southeast Asia connectivity, plus a report that enterprise customers continue to adopt Microsoft’s AI and cloud services. These are strategically helpful, but not immediate catalysts. Microsoft partners with Singapore's Lightstorm to build India-Southeast Asia undersea cable
• Negative Sentiment: Sentiment is still being held back by Microsoft’s weak recent stock performance, with articles noting its worst month in more than 25 years and renewed debate about whether the selloff is creating a buying opportunity. Microsoft Had Its Worst Month in More Than 25 Years. Should Investors Buy the Crash?
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is also facing class-action securities litigation over alleged misrepresentations during the class period, which adds a legal overhang and may keep some investors cautious. Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman LLC Urges Microsoft Corporation Investors to Act: Class Action Filed Alleging Investor Harm
• Negative Sentiment: Other reports said Microsoft may cut thousands of jobs and that investors are questioning whether its massive AI capital spending can generate enough returns. That uncertainty is weighing on the stock despite the company’s strong long-term fundamentals. Microsoft eyes another wave of layoffs that could hit 5,000 workers next week

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently 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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