Country Trust Bank Sells 22,500 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Country Trust Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 5.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 428,064 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 22,500 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 4.9% of Country Trust Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Country Trust Bank’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $221,716,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter worth $38,000. University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth $50,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Westend Capital Management LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 71.2% in the third quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total transaction of $1,364,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 55,782 shares in the company, valued at $26,703,959.04. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total value of $6,266,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 129,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,577,620.48. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT opened at $401.14 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market cap of $2.98 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.09, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.08. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The business has a 50 day moving average of $468.42 and a 200-day moving average of $496.17.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 22.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Microsoft from $650.00 to $600.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Microsoft from $630.00 to $615.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Microsoft from $640.00 to $520.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $590.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $596.95.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and notes highlighting Microsoft’s relatively durable free cash flow versus other hyperscalers are soothing investors worried about AI capex. Why Microsoft’s Cash Flow Sets It Apart from Other Hyperscalers
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s large, funded partner programs (notably the multibillion‑dollar IREN deal) are progressing — IREN secured financing and management says Microsoft prepayments/backing reduce execution risk for deploying AI capacity. That validates Microsoft’s ability to source external infrastructure without bearing all capex. IREN Earnings Were Ugly—Is a Beautiful Future Already Funded?
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional flows show some buyers stepping in (reported stake increases by managers), suggesting bargain hunting after the pullback. Manning & Napier Advisors boosts Microsoft stake
• Positive Sentiment: Government partnerships (UK deepfake detection) reinforce Microsoft’s regulatory/trust positioning for AI tools — a reputational plus that can support enterprise adoption. Britain to work with Microsoft to build deepfake detection system
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader hyperscaler capex is surging (reports of ~$700B combined spending), a structural trend that supports long‑term AI revenue but puts near‑term pressure on free cash flow across the group. Tech AI spending may approach $700 billion this year, but the blow to cash raises red flags
• Neutral Sentiment: Infrastructure market evolution (bitcoin miners pivoting to lease power to AI customers) creates more supplier options for Microsoft to scale capacity without owning all sites — strategic but execution‑dependent. The Great Pivot: Bitcoin Miners Are Becoming AI’s Landlords
• Negative Sentiment: Stifel’s rare downgrade (Hold) and analyst concern about Google/Anthropic competition for Azure weighed on sentiment earlier this week and triggered part of the sell‑off. Microsoft Stock Gets a Rare Downgrade. AI Competition Is Heating Up for Azure.
• Negative Sentiment: Specific execution worries — slower Copilot adoption and signs of softer Azure acceleration in the quarter — remain key risk points investors are watching; these were central to the post‑earnings sell‑off. Microsoft (MSFT) Stock: Should You Buy After 22% Plunge?
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/market psychology: an AI‑led rotation has erased large amounts of Big Tech market value, amplifying volatility for Microsoft even when fundamentals look mixed. Big Tech sees over $1 trillion wiped from stocks as fears of AI bubble ignite sell-off

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).