First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 256,556 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,762 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises approximately 1.7% of First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $94,969,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its position in Microsoft by 27.0% during the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. lifted its position in Microsoft by 0.3% in the second quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,658,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 410.4% in the third quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,144,000 after purchasing an additional 2,138 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,374 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 23,097 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,735,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Microsoft Stock Performance
NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $499.99 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $404.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $406.96. The stock has a market cap of $3.71 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $349.20 and a twelve month high of $553.72.
Microsoft Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors 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 yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.27%.
Microsoft News Summary
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Citi raised its Microsoft price target to $600. The upgrade follows Microsoft’s quarterly Azure performance, with analysts highlighting the 43% cloud-revenue increase and stronger-than-expected earnings as evidence that AI demand is translating into accelerating cloud growth. Citi Raises Microsoft Stock Target to $600
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s custom AI chips may improve cloud economics. CEO Satya Nadella said the company’s internally developed chips can deliver efficiency gains of up to 40%. Better cost and energy efficiency could help Microsoft support AI workloads while protecting Azure margins. Microsoft Custom AI Chips Improve Efficiency
- Positive Sentiment: Azure is expanding in India. Microsoft opened a major Hyderabad data-center region and is committing approximately $20.5 billion to its Indian cloud and AI operations. Early customers include Adani Group and HDFC Bank, supporting the case for long-term international Azure growth. Microsoft Opens Largest India Data Center Hub
- Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals and institutional support remain strong. Microsoft recently exceeded quarterly revenue and EPS expectations, while Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square holds a reported $2.4 billion MSFT position. Scotiabank also raised its fiscal 2027 EPS estimate and maintained an Outperform rating. Bill Ackman Microsoft Stake
- Neutral Sentiment: AI demand is powerful but concentrated. Reports suggest OpenAI may account for a substantial portion of Microsoft’s AI sales, creating both a major growth engine and customer-concentration risk. Microsoft’s large AI backlog also does not guarantee equivalent future profitability.
- Negative Sentiment: Spending, margins and valuation remain concerns. Rising data-center capital expenditures and lower cloud gross margins could pressure cash flow if AI infrastructure costs grow faster than revenue. After the sharp post-earnings rally, the stock is also more vulnerable to profit-taking or disappointing guidance.
- Negative Sentiment: Insider sales and securities litigation add headline risk. CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares for roughly $4.9 million, and multiple law firms are publicizing a securities class action with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. These developments do not establish wrongdoing but may weigh on near-term sentiment.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore set a $528.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut their price target on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, July 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $558.87.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Microsoft
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 38,572 shares of company stock worth $17,775,330 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).
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