Bollard Group LLC Has $140.60 Million Stock Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Bollard Group LLC trimmed its Microsoft stake by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, but still held 290,716 shares valued at about $140.6 million, making Microsoft its fifth-largest position.
• Microsoft reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.27 and revenue of $82.89 billion, both ahead of estimates and up 18.3% year over year.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, while analysts remain broadly bullish with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $561.20.

Bollard Group LLC cut its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 290,716 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 31,940 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 3.5% of Bollard Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Bollard Group LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $140,596,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares 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 purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. 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. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $390.74 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $356.28 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $411.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $428.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The company has a market cap of $2.90 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.44 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.46 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's payout ratio is 21.67%.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s broader AI and cloud story remains intact, with recent commentary highlighting strong Azure demand, continued Copilot momentum, and bullish analyst views that the stock is still attractive long term.
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share reinforces Microsoft’s cash generation and shareholder-return profile.
• Neutral Sentiment: Satya Nadella’s comments about using AI more efficiently and Microsoft’s tighter controls on third-party AI tools like Anthropic’s Claude suggest a focus on governance and cost discipline rather than a direct business setback.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft is weighing a spinoff or restructuring of Xbox, along with expected layoffs and budget cuts, are the biggest near-term headwind and are likely weighing on sentiment around the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Additional reports of job cuts in Microsoft’s Azure unit in China and broader worries about AI infrastructure spending are adding caution about near-term execution and profitability.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Microsoft from $641.00 to $646.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $586.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $575.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Microsoft from $575.00 to $505.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Forty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $561.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at $50,928,792.23. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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).

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