Baxter Bros Inc. Acquires 1,383 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Baxter Bros Inc. increased its Microsoft stake by 1.1% in the second quarter, adding 1,383 shares to own 131,367 shares valued at approximately $49 million. Microsoft represents 5.7% of the fund’s portfolio, while institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of the stock.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $4.74 per share and revenue of $90.01 billion, exceeding analyst expectations; revenue increased 17.7% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98, or $3.92 annually.
• Despite positive analyst sentiment and continued AI and Azure momentum, Microsoft insiders sold 143,009 shares worth about $71.4 million over the past 90 days. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $578.73, while valuation, capital spending and interest-rate risks remain concerns.

Baxter Bros Inc. boosted its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 131,367 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 1,383 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 5.7% of Baxter Bros Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Baxter Bros Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $49,002,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its stake in Microsoft by 56,160.8% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,073,486,000 after buying an additional 60,009,531 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its stake in Microsoft by 30.8% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 41,675,076 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $15,426,862,000 after buying an additional 9,814,598 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 10.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 29,323,744 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $10,852,884,000 after acquiring an additional 2,784,809 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,300,410 shares of the software giant's stock worth $12,235,785,000 after acquiring an additional 458,014 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 64.3% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 24,264,779 shares of the software giant's stock worth $8,982,083,000 after acquiring an additional 9,493,778 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total value of $20,764,903.98. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at $265,888,830.48. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at $49,007,086.83. This represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock valued at $71,420,699. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.8%

Microsoft stock opened at $529.30 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72. The stock has a market cap of $3.93 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.47, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.10. The company's 50-day moving average price is $495.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $432.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.65 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a $0.98 dividend. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is a positive change from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Microsoft's payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade and higher price target: Melius Research upgraded Microsoft from “Hold” to “Buy” and set a $665 target, arguing that corporate concerns about AI safety, governance and security could increase demand for Microsoft’s enterprise tools. BNP Paribas also reportedly raised its forecast to $604, citing Azure growth, Copilot consumption-based pricing and the integration of OpenAI-related revenue. Melius Research upgrades Microsoft
• Positive Sentiment: AI and cloud momentum remain the core catalyst: Investors continue to focus on strong Azure demand, expanding AI infrastructure requirements and Copilot adoption. Microsoft is increasingly viewed as a relatively dependable enterprise AI leader, with its installed base, cloud platform and security products potentially giving it an advantage as businesses seek trusted AI solutions. Microsoft viewed as an AI leader
• Positive Sentiment: Upcoming Windows and Surface event: Microsoft’s October 7 event will highlight on-device AI and could provide updates on Windows, Surface and Copilot monetization. The event is being watched for evidence that AI can reinvigorate the devices business while complementing faster-growing cloud operations. Microsoft Windows and Surface event
• Neutral Sentiment: Internal AI model shift: Microsoft is reportedly steering employees away from Anthropic’s Claude toward internally developed AI models. This could reduce costs and dependence on outside providers, but investors will watch whether Microsoft maintains performance and enterprise customer confidence.
• Negative Sentiment: Risks include valuation, spending and rates: Microsoft’s strong recent rally has increased valuation concerns, while substantial capital expenditures needed for data centers could pressure free cash flow. Rising Treasury yields may also weigh on richly valued AI stocks. Rising Treasury yields and AI stocks
• Negative Sentiment: Isolated selling signals: A member of Congress disclosed a sale of Microsoft shares ahead of earnings season. The trade is a limited sentiment indicator rather than a fundamental development, but it may attract attention after reports that Microsoft insiders have sold shares without reported purchases in recent months. Congressman sells Microsoft stock

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Microsoft from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, September 28th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $530.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, William Blair assumed coverage on Microsoft in a report on Monday. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Forty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $578.73.

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices, gaming products and business solutions. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, the company is best known for the Windows operating system and Microsoft Office productivity software. Microsoft is headquartered in Redmond, Washington, and serves consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

Microsoft's productivity and business offerings include Microsoft 365 applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, along with collaboration tools including Teams.

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