Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Position Trimmed by InvesTrust

InvesTrust trimmed its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 22.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,572 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 5,771 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 3.7% of InvesTrust’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. InvesTrust’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,465,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 51.3% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter worth $49,000. University of Illinois Foundation purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Stance Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter valued at about $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

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

Insider Activity

In other 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $373.46 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $400.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $462.61. The company has a market capitalization of $2.77 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released 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 return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The firm had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.23 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.91 dividend. 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 (DPR) is currently 22.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MSFT. DZ Bank restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, March 9th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $586.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $588.97.

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).