Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. Invests $27.19 Million in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. initiated a new Microsoft position in the fourth quarter, buying 56,211 shares worth about $27.19 million. Microsoft now makes up roughly 3.4% of the firm’s portfolio and is its fourth-largest holding.
• Microsoft reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.27 and revenue of $82.89 billion, both ahead of estimates. Revenue rose 18.3% year over year, underscoring continued strength in the business.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, payable June 11, and analysts remain broadly positive. Microsoft has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $562.69.

Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. bought a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 56,211 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $27,185,000. Microsoft comprises about 3.4% of Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 691,386,214 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $259,539,471,000 after buying an additional 7,314,509 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 299,196,519 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $148,823,341,000 after buying an additional 3,166,275 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 179,001,751 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $88,714,256,000 after buying an additional 3,532,054 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at $50,493,678,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $35,316,535,000 after buying an additional 11,600,470 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.0%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $415.00 on Monday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $396.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $445.39. 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 Corporation has a 52 week low of $356.28 and a 52 week high of $555.45. The company has a market capitalization of $3.08 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.10.

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 the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.46 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.67%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s latest quarterly results showed stronger-than-expected revenue and EPS, with cloud revenue still growing rapidly, reinforcing the bull case that enterprise AI and Azure demand remain a key growth driver. Great News for Microsoft Stock Investors
• Positive Sentiment: The company is expanding data center investments in Europe to meet rising cloud and AI demand, which signals continued capital deployment behind long-term growth. Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) to Invest in European Data Center Regions
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is also being highlighted as a key enterprise AI and cloud leader, with commentary pointing to its deep integration into corporate spending and its AI-control-plane strategy for securing and governing AI agents. Why Microsoft (MSFT) Is Turning Agent 365 Into an AI Control Plane
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays reiterated a Buy rating, and another note raised the price target, suggesting Wall Street still sees upside despite the recent stock consolidation. Microsoft's (MSFT) "Buy" Rating Reiterated at Barclays
• Neutral Sentiment: Satya Nadella is expected to testify in Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI, a headline that underscores Microsoft’s deep involvement in OpenAI’s founding, but does not by itself change Microsoft’s core operating outlook. Microsoft boss to testify on his role in OpenAI's founding
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and media commentary comparing Alphabet and Microsoft, as well as broader AI-sector pieces, are mostly sentiment pieces rather than company-specific catalysts. Better Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock: Alphabet or Microsoft
• Negative Sentiment: Bloomberg-reported delays at Microsoft’s African data center site, tied to payment disagreements with the Kenyan government, could slow a planned infrastructure expansion. Microsoft's African data center falters on payment demands, Bloomberg News reports
• Negative Sentiment: Some market commentary is resurfacing the bear case that generative AI could pressure Microsoft’s Office franchise over time, which may weigh on valuation multiples if investors focus on long-term software disruption risk. The AI Threat Google Couldn't Mount: Why This Expert Says Microsoft's $70 Billion Cash Cow Is Vulnerable Now
• Negative Sentiment: Articles noting a broader shift from software toward chip/infrastructure names suggest some investors are favoring AI hardware plays over software stocks like Microsoft right now. Chip Stocks Are Soaring While Software Slows. Is a Reversal Looming?

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial cut Microsoft from a "market perform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, May 4th. President Capital increased their target price on Microsoft from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Microsoft from $575.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Melius Research set a $430.00 target price on Microsoft in a report on Monday, February 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $562.69.

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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