Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 4.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 80,904 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,391 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 3.8% of Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $29,948,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WealthCare Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. WealthCare Asset Management LLC now owns 2,536 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $939,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Summa Corp. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Summa Corp. now owns 22,721 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $8,411,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the last quarter. Fulcrum Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. Fulcrum Capital LLC now owns 83,376 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $30,863,000 after buying an additional 6,364 shares in the last quarter. Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. Walled Lake Planning & Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,883 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $2,918,000 after buying an additional 995 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlpenGlobal Capital LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 1st quarter worth approximately $5,988,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.
Microsoft Stock Performance
NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $381.70 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $398.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $408.08. The stock has a market cap of $2.84 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.13. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $555.45.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.67%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several analysts have issued reports on MSFT shares. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “market perform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, July 6th. Citizens Jmp initiated coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, June 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $550.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $555.40.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Microsoft
Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft joined 25 tech companies in urging U.S. policymakers not to impose broad restrictions on open-weight and open-source AI models, a stance that supports its broader AI ecosystem strategy and could help preserve flexibility for future product development. Reuters article
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft also backed a coalition letter with Nvidia, Meta, and other firms arguing that open-weight AI is important for U.S. leadership, reinforcing investor confidence that the company remains a major AI platform player rather than being boxed into one model provider. Business Insider article
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s expanded Databricks partnership extends a key cloud/data-AI relationship through the 2030s, which should help Azure adoption and strengthen long-term enterprise demand for Microsoft’s cloud services. TipRanks article
- Neutral Sentiment: Several previews ahead of Microsoft’s July 29 earnings report say the big investor focus will be FY2027 CapEx guidance and Azure growth, with analysts expecting strong results but worrying that AI infrastructure spending could weigh on free cash flow and margins. MarketBeat article
- Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms issued class-action alerts and deadline reminders tied to Microsoft securities-fraud claims, including allegations related to Copilot disclosures, which adds headline risk and may keep some investors cautious into earnings. GlobeNewswire article
- Negative Sentiment: Broader tech weakness tied to AI spending fears also weighed on Microsoft, as investors sold mega-cap names after seeing massive capital outlays across the sector and questioning near-term returns on AI investment. Fox Business article
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 47,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. This represents a 8.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the firm’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 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 approximately $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
About Microsoft
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).
Read More
- Five stocks we like better than Microsoft
- AMD and Cerbras Create A New Blueprint For Hardware
- Intel Earnings Reveal Whether the Chip Selloff Created a Buy
- CrowdStrike’s Cerebras Deal Puts Its AI Security Strategy to the Test
- Plugging In: How Kinder Morgan Powers Up Profits
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report).
Receive News & Ratings for Microsoft Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Microsoft and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
