Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.

Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 22.6% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,249,443 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 364,081 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 6.8% of Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $449,611,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings 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 valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Bernzott Capital Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 287.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Microsoft News

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 Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total value of $1,812,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. This trade represents a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on MSFT. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $540.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. DZ Bank reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $625.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Forty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $557.96.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $393.82 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.93 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.44, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $400.28 and a 200-day moving average of $411.30.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $81.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.46 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

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).