Trust Co. of Vermont Buys New Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Trust Co. of Vermont purchased 254,322 Microsoft shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $94.9 million. Microsoft now represents about 3.5% of the fund’s portfolio and is its third-largest holding.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own approximately 71.13% of Microsoft, with several major investors increasing their positions during the quarter.
• Microsoft’s outlook remains supported by strong earnings, Azure and AI growth expectations, and predominantly bullish analyst ratings, although concerns remain about debt-funded AI spending and limited Copilot usage. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98 per share.

Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 254,322 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $94,867,000. Microsoft comprises approximately 3.5% of Trust Co. of Vermont's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Principle Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 1.8% during the second quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116,758 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $43,553,000 after buying an additional 2,104 shares during the last quarter. Capital Financial Group Inc. Co. ADV raised its stake in Microsoft by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Financial Group Inc. Co. ADV now owns 1,544 shares of the software giant's stock worth $576,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc raised its stake in Microsoft by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc now owns 22,779 shares of the software giant's stock worth $8,497,000 after acquiring an additional 1,954 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Microsoft by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 20,161,916 shares of the software giant's stock worth $7,520,881,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003,560 shares during the period. Finally, Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at about $60,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: New AI hardware and Windows strategy: Microsoft unveiled the $2,599 Surface Laptop Ultra, powered by Nvidia’s RTX chip, allowing users to run AI models and agents locally rather than through the cloud. The launch could strengthen Windows’ position in AI PCs, support device demand and create new opportunities for Microsoft’s software ecosystem. Microsoft to sell $2,599 Surface Laptop Ultra containing Nvidia AI chip
• Positive Sentiment: AI monetization remains the core bull case: Analysts and investors continue to point to Azure growth, Copilot revenue potential and Microsoft’s perceived strength in AI security and enterprise trust. Evercore ISI reiterated a Buy rating and raised its target to $635, while Melius Research upgraded the stock to Buy with a $665 target. Microsoft: AI-Driven Azure Upside Spurs Buy Rating and Target Price Hike to $635
• Positive Sentiment: Strong fundamentals provide support: Microsoft’s latest reported quarter exceeded expectations, with revenue up 17.7% year over year and earnings above consensus. Optimism ahead of the next earnings report is also supported by reported Azure momentum and a history of earnings beats.
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming earnings date: Microsoft will release fiscal 2027 first-quarter results after the market close on October 28. The date gives investors a near-term catalyst, but it may also keep attention focused on Azure growth, Copilot usage, capital spending and free cash flow. Microsoft announces quarterly earnings release date
• Negative Sentiment: Debt-funded AI expansion raises risk: Microsoft is issuing additional debt to finance data centers and AI hardware. While this supports capacity growth, investors are increasingly concerned about leverage, declining free cash flow and the possibility that AI infrastructure spending becomes excessive or bubble-like.
• Negative Sentiment: Copilot utilization concerns: Usage-tracking commentary suggests many employees at companies with Microsoft Copilot licenses use the service minimally. If low engagement leads to weaker renewals or slower seat expansion, it could challenge assumptions that Copilot will quickly become a major source of recurring AI revenue. Bad News for Microsoft: Basically Zero AI Use for Most Employees on Copilot

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MSFT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, September 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Microsoft from $700.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Microsoft from an "outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Melius Research set a $665.00 price target on shares of Microsoft and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Forty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $578.73.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total transaction of $20,764,903.98. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $265,888,830.48. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $529.76 on Thursday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $553.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market cap of $3.93 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $498.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $433.03.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This is a positive change from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 20.27%.

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices, gaming products and business solutions. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, the company is best known for the Windows operating system and Microsoft Office productivity software. Microsoft is headquartered in Redmond, Washington, and serves consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

Microsoft's productivity and business offerings include Microsoft 365 applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, along with collaboration tools including Teams.

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