WealthTrust Asset Management LLC Grows Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• WealthTrust Asset Management increased its Microsoft stake by 23.5% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 6,233 shares valued at approximately $2.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft exceeded quarterly expectations with $4.74 in EPS and $90.01 billion in revenue, up 17.7% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, equivalent to a 0.7% annual yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $558.64, although heavy AI infrastructure spending, potential free-cash-flow pressure and securities litigation remain risks.

WealthTrust Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 23.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,233 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 1,184 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 1.4% of WealthTrust Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. WealthTrust Asset Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,307,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,942,580 shares of the software giant's stock worth $347,211,391,000 after purchasing an additional 15,955,898 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 306,150,608 shares of the software giant's stock worth $148,060,557,000 after purchasing an additional 6,388,930 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,618,400 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $88,056,019,000 after purchasing an additional 1,911,142 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 121,220,561 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $58,624,690,000 after purchasing an additional 980,439 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $50,664,631,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $487.65 on Tuesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $349.20 and a 12-month high of $553.72. The company has a market capitalization of $3.62 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $399.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $405.57.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.65 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft's payout ratio is 20.27%.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure growth and AI monetization are driving the rally. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue and earnings exceeded expectations, while Azure growth accelerated to approximately 30%. Analysts and commentators said demand for cloud and generative-AI services is beginning to justify the company’s roughly $175 billion in annual spending. Microsoft Just Proved that AI Spending Can Pay Off
• Positive Sentiment: Strong bookings and infrastructure commitments support future revenue. Microsoft’s cloud backlog and more than $100 billion in data-center leases indicate that customers are committing to long-term capacity, giving investors greater confidence in continued Azure and AI expansion. Big Tech’s Cloud Backlog Just Hit $2.3 Trillion
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street sentiment has improved. Analysts described Microsoft as one of the better-positioned hyperscalers in the AI race, citing its balance sheet, recurring software revenue, free-cash-flow generation and cloud leadership. The post-earnings advance has erased the stock’s prior 2026 losses and renewed expectations for additional upside. Microsoft’s Stock Is on a Run Not Seen in 26 Years
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft 365 ecosystem expansion. Paychex launched its WISE workforce-intelligence integration in Microsoft 365 Copilot and Teams, reinforcing Microsoft’s platform reach among small and midsize businesses, although the direct financial impact for MSFT is likely modest. Paychex Brings WISE Workforce Intelligence to Microsoft 365 Copilot and Teams
• Negative Sentiment: Securities litigation remains an overhang. Several law firms publicized a class action concerning alleged misrepresentations about Copilot functionality, AI adoption and Azure growth, with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. The announcements do not establish liability but could increase legal, reputational and disclosure risks. MSFT Shareholder Alert
• Negative Sentiment: Capital spending and free cash flow remain watch points. The scale of AI infrastructure spending could pressure cash flow and returns if monetization slows, even though recent results have eased those concerns. The AI Spending Boom and Free Cash Flow

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Tigress Financial raised their price target on Microsoft from $595.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $510.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $502.00 to $522.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $558.64.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total transaction of $1,812,780.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares in the company, valued at $19,122,009.12. The trade was a 8.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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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