Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Hilltop National Bank’s Largest Position

Hilltop National Bank boosted its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 42.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,750 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,654 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for about 7.7% of Hilltop National Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Hilltop National Bank’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $31,798,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at $50,493,678,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 1st quarter worth $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 500.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $30,840,432,000 after buying an additional 49,618,571 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 49,640.3% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $14,905,904,000 after acquiring an additional 29,906,791 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Microsoft by 2.0% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 705,077,786 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $350,712,742,000 after acquiring an additional 13,691,572 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value 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 $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $372.74 on Wednesday. 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. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $415.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $470.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.77 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.23 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 is presently 22.76%.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BofA reinstated coverage with a Buy rating and a $500 target, arguing Azure and Copilot momentum justify material upside — a prominent bullish signal for long?term investors. BofA projects 31% rally
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual call?option volume shows traders are buying at?the?money and slightly OTM calls today — a short?term bullish signal that some investors expect a rebound or are hedging for upside. Investors piling into MSFT calls
• Positive Sentiment: Talent hires for Microsoft’s advanced AI teams (including experienced researchers under Mustafa Suleyman) reinforce MSFT’s long?term AI capability and product road map. Microsoft hires AI researchers
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft agreed to rent a large Texas data?center project that Oracle/OpenAI abandoned — this expands capacity but highlights industry competition for sites and local community approval challenges. Microsoft to rent Texas data center
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft President Brad Smith’s comments on investing in nuclear power and building AI guardrails signal long?term infrastructure and safety focus — supportive for sustainability and compliance, but not an immediate earnings catalyst. Brad Smith on nuclear investment
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple short?interest entries in feeds show anomalous/zero values (likely data noise) and do not indicate a meaningful rise in shorts today.
• Negative Sentiment: OpenAI’s investor document flagged heavy dependence on Microsoft for funding and compute as a top risk — that disclosure raised concerns about the partnership’s stability and potential revenue recognition or strategic risk. OpenAI flags Microsoft dependence
• Negative Sentiment: News reports and analyst commentary point to a weak near?term outlook and MSFT hitting new lows, triggering selling pressure as investors reassess near?term growth vs. rising costs. Microsoft hits new low amid weak outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Melius and other analysts flagged reorganization of Copilot and broader heavy CapEx for AI as execution risks — investors worry monetization of Copilot and the $100–120B+ infrastructure spend will pressure margins before benefits materialize. Melius: Copilot reorg red flag

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wedbush dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $625.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Microsoft from $625.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $640.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $530.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $591.34.

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).