Community Trust & Investment Co. Raises Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Community Trust & Investment Co. grew its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 232,339 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,828 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 5.9% of Community Trust & Investment Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Community Trust & Investment Co.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $112,364,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. IRON Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 6,510 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,372,000 after buying an additional 1,225 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $9,941,000. PMG Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter worth about $828,000. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 2.6% in the second quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 94,120 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,816,000 after acquiring an additional 2,373 shares during the period. Finally, Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 2.3% in the third quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 70,175 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,572 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the 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 completion of 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, 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 shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Microsoft stock opened at $356.77 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $2.65 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.31, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $409.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $467.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.39.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $450.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $588.97.

Microsoft News Roundup

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).