Clear Trail Advisors LLC Takes Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Clear Trail Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 39,884 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $19,289,000. Microsoft makes up about 4.5% of Clear Trail Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Community Trust & Investment Co. grew its position in Microsoft by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. now owns 232,339 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $112,364,000 after acquiring an additional 5,828 shares during the last quarter. Carderock Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Carderock Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,269 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $12,704,000 after acquiring an additional 1,293 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2,332.1% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,746,017 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,262,509,000 after purchasing an additional 6,468,645 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Cambridge Financial Group LLC now owns 3,849 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,861,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Finally, S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 26,498 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $12,815,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $641.00 price objective (down from $645.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $600.00 price target (down from $650.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Microsoft from $625.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, HSBC cut their price objective on Microsoft from $667.00 to $588.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $588.97.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 83,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $356.77 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $2.65 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $409.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $467.20.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. The company had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.23 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 22.76%.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Some Wall Street analysts still see large upside for MSFT, arguing the pullback may be overdone and presenting a buying opportunity for long‑term investors. Wall Street Says Microsoft Stock Has 89% Rebound Potential
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamental revenue drivers remain: LinkedIn ad growth and marketing solutions are cited as near‑term revenue positives that help offset AI spending concerns. Microsoft Benefits From LinkedIn Ad Growth: More Upside Ahead?
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft has implemented targeted hiring freezes in major cloud and North American sales groups while keeping AI and engineering hiring active — a cost‑management move that highlights prioritization of AI infrastructure but leaves uncertainty over near‑term sales execution. Microsoft freezes hiring in major cloud, sales groups, The Information reports
• Neutral Sentiment: Infrastructure expansion continues: third‑party partner Crusoe announced a 900 MW AI campus in Abilene, Texas to support large‑scale workloads for Microsoft — this reinforces demand for hyperscale capacity even as investors debate ROI timing. Crusoe Announces New 900 MW AI Factory Campus in Abilene, Texas to Support Microsoft AI Infrastructure
• Negative Sentiment: Market narrative has flipped: analysts and commentary say Microsoft is “losing the AI narrative,” and technical indicators show the stock at decade‑low oversold levels — fueling momentum selling. Microsoft’s stock hasn’t been this oversold in a decade, with the tech giant ‘really losing the AI narrative’
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy AI capex and execution concerns: multiple reports highlight Microsoft’s very large AI spending (reports cite ~$30B per quarter-level scale), slowing Copilot adoption vs. expectations, and the stock is on track for its worst quarter since 2008 — pressuring valuations and near‑term sentiment. Microsoft Is Down 24% This Year While Spending $30B a Quarter on AI
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive and strategic risks are rising: OpenAI and other AI firms (including reports of Anthropic eyeing an IPO) are evolving relationships and competition that could reduce Microsoft’s exclusive leverage in parts of the AI stack. Anthropic eyes IPO, Microsoft stock set for worst quarter since 2008

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).