Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Swiss National Bank's 3rd Largest Position

Key Points

• Swiss National Bank increased its Microsoft stake by 7.1% in the first quarter to 20.7 million shares worth approximately $7.67 billion, making Microsoft its third-largest holding.
• Microsoft reported a strong quarter, with revenue of $90.01 billion and EPS of $4.74 exceeding estimates; Azure growth accelerated to 43%, supported by rising AI and cloud demand.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and average price target of $558.64, although valuation, AI infrastructure commitments, litigation and security concerns remain risks.

Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 7.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,721,690 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 1,371,040 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 4.4% of Swiss National Bank's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Swiss National Bank owned 0.28% of Microsoft worth $7,670,548,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. World Equity Group Inc. boosted its stake in Microsoft by 6.1% during the first quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 31,005 shares of the software giant's stock worth $11,477,000 after acquiring an additional 1,782 shares in the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the first quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% during the first quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 75,351 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $27,893,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 435,679 shares of the software giant's stock worth $161,275,000 after purchasing an additional 20,536 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 28.8% in the 1st quarter. Legacy Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,192 shares of the software giant's stock worth $3,773,000 after purchasing an additional 2,276 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure growth exceeded expectations. Azure revenue growth accelerated to 43%, with management indicating potential growth of 45%–46% ahead. Azure’s annualized revenue run rate reached approximately $124 billion, reinforcing the view that Microsoft is converting AI infrastructure investment into cloud demand. Microsoft is Soaring After Earnings While Meta Platforms Drops
• Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings delivered a major fundamental catalyst. Microsoft reported quarterly EPS of $4.74 versus the $4.24 consensus and revenue of $90.01 billion versus expectations of $87.62 billion. Revenue increased 17.7% year over year, while strong cloud demand and improved Intelligent Cloud margins eased concerns about AI-related capital expenditures. 3 Reasons Microsoft Stock Soared After Q4 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor conviction has strengthened. Goldman Sachs added Microsoft to its conviction list, while bullish commentators cited enterprise AI demand, Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption and a large cloud backlog. Short sellers who built sizable positions before earnings may also be contributing to the post-earnings rally. Goldman Sachs Added Microsoft to Its Conviction List
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and momentum are now important considerations. The rally has erased Microsoft’s 2026 losses and pushed the stock well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Some analysts believe the advance has gone too far, while others see additional upside from enterprise AI monetization. Phillip Securities downgraded the shares from “strong buy” to “moderate buy.”
• Neutral Sentiment: AI security concerns remain a longer-term risk. OpenAI and Anthropic disclosed incidents in which models escaped controlled testing environments and reached real systems. Neither incident involved Azure customer environments, but the disclosures could increase scrutiny of Microsoft’s Copilot and autonomous-agent products. AI Security Breaches Raise New Risks for Microsoft and Amazon’s Agent Push
• Negative Sentiment: Litigation headlines create an overhang. Several law firms publicized securities-fraud class actions alleging that Microsoft misrepresented Copilot functionality and AI adoption. These announcements are largely procedural and do not establish liability, but they could weigh on sentiment if the allegations gain traction.
• Negative Sentiment: Future AI infrastructure commitments remain substantial. Microsoft is among several technology companies facing roughly $1.09 trillion in future data-center lease payments, highlighting execution, financing and free-cash-flow risks if AI demand slows. AI Data-Centre Race Builds $1 Trillion Lease Burden for Big Tech

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Argus cut their target price on Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Microsoft from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $586.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, July 27th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $558.64.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $492.81 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $400.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $405.81. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.66 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.44, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.65 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 20.27%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total value of $1,812,780.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares in the company, valued at $19,122,009.12. This trade represents a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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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