Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Sells 7,364 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich slightly reduced its Microsoft stake in the fourth quarter, selling 7,364 shares and leaving it with 4,446,041 shares worth about $2.15 billion. Microsoft remains its second-largest holding.
• Microsoft posted strong quarterly results, with earnings per share of $4.27 and revenue of $82.89 billion, both ahead of analyst expectations. Revenue rose 18.3% year over year, underscoring ongoing business momentum.
• Wall Street sentiment remains bullish overall, with 41 analysts rating the stock a Buy and only six Hold ratings. The consensus price target is about $561.20, above the recent share price of $428.05.

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich trimmed its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,446,041 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 7,364 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 5.9% of Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich owned 0.06% of Microsoft worth $2,152,572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Bernzott Capital Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% in the 4th 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 period. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $580.00 to $510.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Microsoft from a "market perform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Forty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $561.20.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $428.05 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.18 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.48, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $356.28 and a one year high of $555.45. The company's fifty day moving average is $406.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $432.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The business's revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.46 EPS. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's payout ratio is presently 21.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft used Build 2026 to unveil new in-house AI models, agent tools, Windows upgrades, and quantum computing progress, reinforcing its long-term AI growth story and reducing reliance on OpenAI. Analysts Say Buy Microsoft Stock (MSFT) after Build 2026 Reinforces AI Growth Story
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies and other Wall Street commentators praised Microsoft’s model-agnostic enterprise AI strategy, saying its platform, governance tools, and Azure ecosystem position it well in the enterprise AI race. Microsoft's model-agnostic AI strategy earns praise from Jefferies
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts reiterated bullish views and price targets, including TD Cowen’s reaffirmed Buy rating, which supports the view that MSFT still has meaningful upside if AI revenue keeps scaling. Microsoft reiterated buy rating and price target
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s AI revenue run rate reportedly crossed $37 billion, and multiple reports highlighted strong Azure and Copilot demand, suggesting monetization is accelerating. Microsoft's AI Revenue Run Rate Just Crossed $37 Billion. Is It the Best AI Stock to Buy Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s Q3 results beat estimates on both revenue and EPS, but some coverage said the stock still fell after the report because investors remain cautious about how much AI spending will pressure margins. Microsoft (MSFT) Slid Despite Top and Bottom-Line Beats
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s new healthcare AI partnership with Mayo Clinic and other collaborations broaden the AI story, but they are still early-stage and not yet major financial drivers. Microsoft Bets Big On Healthcare AI, Teams Up With Mayo Clinic
• Negative Sentiment: Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares, which can create short-term concern even though the sale was modest relative to his remaining stake. Microsoft NASDAQ: MSFT CEO Sells $7,145,345.00 in Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Several articles noted lingering worries about heavy AI capex, OpenAI relationship strain, and pricing pressure in GitHub Copilot, which could weigh on sentiment if investors question the payoff from Microsoft’s spending spree. GitHub Copilot users get a rude awakening as new AI pricing goes into effect

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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