Baillie Gifford & Co. Decreases Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Baillie Gifford & Co. trimmed its position in Microsoft by 5.4%, selling 316,000 shares to hold 5,544,839 shares (about $2.68B), roughly 2.2% of its portfolio and the firm's 14th largest holding.
• Microsoft beat Q3 estimates with EPS $4.27 (vs. $4.06) and revenue of $82.89B (up 18.3% YoY), driven by >40% Azure/cloud growth and AI monetization, and analysts retain a consensus Moderate Buy with an average price target of $556.15 despite some cuts over capex concerns.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 (0.9% yield) and showed mixed insider activity— a director bought 5,000 shares while an EVP sold 12,321 shares—indicating both insider buying and profit-taking.

Baillie Gifford & Co. cut its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,544,839 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 316,000 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 2.2% of Baillie Gifford & Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned about 0.07% of Microsoft worth $2,681,595,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. WFA Asset Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 27.0% in the first 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 period. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the second quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant's stock worth $5,658,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 410.4% in the third quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 2,138 shares during the period. Wealth Group Ltd. grew its position in 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 buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 96 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MSFT. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Microsoft from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. HSBC cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $593.00 to $571.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $556.15.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results and the earnings call highlighted 40%+ Azure/cloud growth and accelerating AI monetization, giving investors confidence in the company’s long-term AI revenue runway. Microsoft Earnings Call: AI Growth Surges, Margins Squeezed
• Positive Sentiment: The U.S. Pentagon signed agreements allowing Microsoft’s AI tech on classified networks — a credibility and contract win that can translate into long-term, high‑value government revenue. Pentagon inks deals with Nvidia, Microsoft and AWS to deploy AI on classified networks
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst actions include several price‑target raises and reaffirmations (Benchmark raised to $525, others keep buy ratings), signaling continued bullish conviction among some buy‑side firms. Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) Price Target Increased to $525 by Benchmark
• Positive Sentiment: Product catalyst: rollout of Windows 11’s new Xbox Mode supports consumer engagement and adds a near‑term, tangible product story for the stock. Microsoft Stock (MSFT) Jumps on Windows 11 Xbox Mode Rollout
• Neutral Sentiment: The revised Microsoft–OpenAI relationship (ending exclusivity) is being parsed by markets: it reduces some exclusivity upside but clarifies commercial terms that could be neutral-to-positive longer term depending on monetization. Microsoft and OpenAI Just Ended Their Exclusive Deal, and Wall Street Is Trying Hard to Shake Off the Negatives for MSFT Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary from TV/hosts (e.g., Jim Cramer) describes MSFT as attractively valued but notes limited new messaging on the call — this shapes retail sentiment but isn’t new fundamental data. Jim Cramer on Microsoft: “Maybe You Can Consider It Cheap, But It’s Software”
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain focused on record capex (roughly $190B guidance) and the near‑term hit to free cash flow — that spending narrative caused the post‑earnings pullback and continues to cap the multiple. Beat meets bill: MSFT stock slips on AI expenditure concerns despite strong Q3
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman’s note flagging extreme cloud cash burn and other outlets highlighting the industry’s rising AI capex raises concern that spending could pressure margins and returns if monetization lags. Microsoft, Amazon On Watch ― Goldman Sounds Alarm On 90% Cloud Cash Burn
• Negative Sentiment: Some brokers trimmed price targets or cut upside on valuation as they bake in capex risk (HSBC cut its target), keeping a portion of the market cautious. HSBC Cuts Microsoft Price Target to $571 From $593

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $414.41 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $356.28 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $395.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $448.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The company has a market capitalization of $3.08 trillion, a P/E ratio of 24.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.46 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's payout ratio is 22.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 83,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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).

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