InvesTrust Sells 5,771 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

InvesTrust reduced its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 22.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,572 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 5,771 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 3.7% of InvesTrust’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. InvesTrust’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,465,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hilltop Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Hilltop Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,968 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $4,821,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the period. Emergent Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Emergent Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,305 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,598,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the period. Accurate Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Microsoft by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 37,176 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $17,817,000 after purchasing an additional 4,956 shares during the last quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd now owns 318,000 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $153,791,000 after purchasing an additional 69,069 shares during the period. Finally, Sherman Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $715,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $373.46 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year 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’s fifty day moving average is $400.76 and its 200 day moving average is $462.61. The firm has a market cap of $2.77 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 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 currently 22.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on MSFT. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $640.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $586.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Daiwa Securities Group cut their price target on Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $588.97.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft pledged a major strategic buildout in Japan — a $10 billion, multi‑year plan to fund AI data centers, cybersecurity and workforce training with partners including SoftBank and Sakura Internet, underpinning long‑term cloud/A.I. revenue opportunities and local partnerships. Microsoft to invest $10 billion in Japan for AI and cyber defence expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft rolled out multiple proprietary AI models and signaled it will build frontier models in‑house — a strategic shift to reduce dependence on partners and capture more of the AI stack (product control, margins and IP). This supports the long‑term AI revenue thesis. Microsoft building its own high-powered AI models as it looks to slash dependence on OpenAI
• Positive Sentiment: Management says Copilot sales targets were met after changing the go‑to‑market approach (moving to paid/subscription rather than broad bundling), a sign of product monetization gaining traction. That helps offset concerns about adoption. Microsoft hits Copilot sales goals after strategy shift – Bloomberg
• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark initiated coverage / and some street notes raised targets (coverage and a $675 price target were reported), providing analyst support that could lift sentiment if follow‑through occurs. Microsoft Charts $10 Billion of Outlays in AI-Eager Japan
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft announced local partnerships and community programs (e.g., Victoria University datacenter academy) that support talent pipeline and social license for datacenter expansion — constructive but longer‑dated impact. Microsoft Corp (MSFT) Partners with Victoria University on Datacenter Community Pledge
• Neutral Sentiment: Smaller ecosystem developments (Sakura Internet confirming talks, local partners’ stock moves) amplify the Japan story but are execution‑dependent; useful context for investors tracking regional rollout. SAKURA Internet Confirms Exploratory AI Cloud Collaboration Talks With Microsoft Japan
• Negative Sentiment: Recent quarterly performance and commentary have disappointed some investors — headlines describe a Q1 “slide” and the worst quarterly drop since 2008 for MSFT, feeding the narrative of short‑term weakness and valuation re‑rating. That continues to pressure the stock. After Microsoft’s Q1 Slide, Are the Bulls Still On Board?
• Negative Sentiment: Several large funds / billionaires have trimmed MSFT positions in recent 13F disclosures (D.E. Shaw, Steve Cohen, Dan Loeb), signaling some institutional profit‑taking amid concerns over cloud supply constraints and guidance — a headwind for near‑term flows. Microsoft Corporation (MSFT): Billionaire Steve Cohen Trims Position
• Negative Sentiment: Security/product risks surfaced (reports on “AI recommendation poisoning”) and ongoing execution demands for in‑house frontier models add operational risk and could temper upside if issues emerge. AI Recommendation Poisoning: Why Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Is Fighting So Hard

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).