Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Acquires 23,838 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 3.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 642,285 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,838 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 4.9% of Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $239,495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 73,118 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $27,066,000 after purchasing an additional 10,750 shares during the last quarter. Dividend Assets Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Dividend Assets Capital LLC now owns 69,792 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $25,835,000 after purchasing an additional 2,072 shares during the period. Marietta Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Marietta Investment Partners LLC now owns 52,321 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $19,368,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Columbia Bank increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Columbia Bank now owns 42,122 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $15,592,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 31,339 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $11,601,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is still getting support from Wall Street, with some analysts and portfolio managers reiterating buy ratings and arguing that Azure demand, Copilot adoption, and Microsoft 365 tailwinds can support long-term earnings power. Article: Josh Baer Reiterates Buy on Microsoft, Citing AI Leadership, Azure/M365 Budget Tailwinds and Underappreciated Earnings Power
• Positive Sentiment: A CIO survey and other commentary pointed to strong Azure demand at multi-year highs, reinforcing the view that Microsoft’s cloud and AI platform remains a core beneficiary of enterprise spending. Article: Microsoft (MSFT) Stock Surges on Strong Azure Demand in Latest CIO Survey
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft also announced a multi-year AI infrastructure partnership with 3M, which investors viewed as another sign that its Azure ecosystem is expanding into real-world enterprise use cases. Article: Microsoft Stock Rebounds on 3M Optical Infrastructure Alliance
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella criticized Anthropic’s Fable restrictions and pushed for Microsoft to promote its own AI models more aggressively, highlighting the company’s effort to reduce reliance on outside AI vendors. Article: Microsoft’s Nadella rips Anthropic’s Fable restrictions in staff meeting: ‘Doesn’t make sense’
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft is training its sales force to push in-house AI models over OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic suggest a strategic shift toward better control over costs and monetization, but the market is still waiting for proof that this approach boosts returns. Article: Microsoft is reportedly training salespeople to talk down OpenAI and Anthropic
• Negative Sentiment: Several reports said analysts trimmed price targets ahead of earnings, and commentary stressed that investors are increasingly worried Microsoft’s AI spending spree could pressure margins before the payoff becomes visible. Article: Why Microsoft Is Playing a Different AI Game Than Big Tech—and Cash Flow Is the Test
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is facing added overhang from securities class-action deadlines and allegations tied to Copilot and Azure disclosures, which can keep pressure on sentiment even though these developments are not operational. Article: MSFT UPCOMING DEADLINE : The Gross Law Firm Alerts Microsoft Corporation Stockholders of Securities Class Action

Microsoft Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of MSFT opened at $393.82 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $400.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $411.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.93 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.46 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.71 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, September 10th. Shareholders 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 0.9%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 21.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Scotiabank raised shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. China Renaissance dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Phillip Securities raised Microsoft to a “buy” rating and set a $485.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Forty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $557.96.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total value of $1,812,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. The trade was a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft 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).