Whittier Trust Co. Has $363.37 Million Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Whittier Trust Co. cut its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 974,500 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 15,628 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 4.1% of Whittier Trust Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $363,372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Bernzott Capital Advisors bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 287.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Down 1.8%

Microsoft stock opened at $393.82 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $400.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $411.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.93 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.44, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The company had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.46 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 21.67%.

Key Headlines 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

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total transaction of $1,812,780.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. The trade was a 8.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 over the last 90 days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. China Renaissance cut their price target on Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Microsoft from $675.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their target price on Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. Finally, Dbs Bank lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Forty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $557.96.

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).