Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Baxter Bros Inc.'s 2nd Largest Position

Key Points

• Baxter Bros Inc. trimmed its stake in Microsoft by 1.9% to 130,566 shares (worth about $63.14 million), leaving Microsoft as the firm's 2nd largest position and representing 7.3% of its holdings.
• Analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" with a $562.44 price target amid strong Q3 results (EPS $4.27 vs. $4.06; revenue $82.89B, +18.3%), but mixed ratings and target cuts reflect worries over large AI-driven capex, ESG implications and short-term security risks.

Baxter Bros Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 130,566 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 2,595 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 7.3% of Baxter Bros Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Baxter Bros Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $63,144,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its position in Microsoft by 27.0% during 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 last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.3% during 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 last quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 410.4% during 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 last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. boosted 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 worth $1,000,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted 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 worth $9,735,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Microsoft from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $515.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $515.00 target price (down from $630.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, April 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $562.44.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Top analyst price‑target upgrades lift sentiment; one note cited ~60% upside to a new street‑high target, supporting buy interest. Microsoft Stock Lands a New Street‑High Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: An influential research shop lifted its price target materially (Arete to $870), signaling strong conviction that AI/cloud execution will drive long‑term upside. Arete Research Boosts Microsoft Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results continue to show robust AI/cloud revenue growth and EPS beats, underpinning the bull case for durable top‑line momentum. Microsoft Q3 Revenues Jump 18% on AI & Cloud
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional buying: Fisher Asset Management and other funds have increased stakes, which can provide support to the stock. Fisher Asset Management Boosts Microsoft Stake
• Neutral Sentiment: Xbox product pruning (Copilot discontinuation) trimmed consumer AI spend and was interpreted positively by some investors as discipline on unprofitable initiatives. Xbox Discontinues Copilot
• Neutral Sentiment: Street reaction is mixed: some firms trimmed targets but kept Buy ratings, reflecting split views on near‑term capex vs. long‑term AI growth. Here’s What the Street Thinks About Microsoft Post‑Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Big AI data‑center buildout is driving a large ($190B) capex guide and discussions about shelving Microsoft’s 2030 hourly clean‑energy match target — a potential ESG/regulatory and reputational headwind. Microsoft May Shelve 2030 Clean Energy Target
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain uneasy about the size and timing of AI spending; some analysts warn margin pressure and elevated capex could weigh on near‑term returns. Is Microsoft Stock an Undervalued Stock to Buy?
• Negative Sentiment: Security concern: reports of a new hacker group exploiting Microsoft Teams add short‑term risk around remediation costs and customer confidence in collaboration tools. New Hacker Group Exploits Teams

Microsoft Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $420.93 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $396.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $445.39. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $356.28 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market cap of $3.13 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.06, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.46 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.67%.

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 stock was acquired at an average price of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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).

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.