Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Acquired by Baker Avenue Asset Management LP

Key Points

• Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its Microsoft stake by 356.3% in the fourth quarter, adding 230,246 shares and bringing its total to 294,860 shares worth about $142.6 million.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.27 beating estimates and revenue of $82.89 billion also topping forecasts, while revenue rose 18.3% year over year.
• Despite the bullish fundamentals and upbeat AI/cloud commentary, some insider selling and mixed market sentiment have added caution, even as analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $561.20 average target price.

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP lifted its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 356.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 294,860 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 230,246 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 3.3% of Baker Avenue Asset Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP's holdings in Microsoft were worth $142,600,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,942,580 shares of the software giant's stock worth $347,211,391,000 after purchasing an additional 15,955,898 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 299,196,519 shares of the software giant's stock worth $148,823,341,000 after buying an additional 3,166,275 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,618,400 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $88,056,019,000 after acquiring an additional 1,911,142 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $50,493,678,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $35,316,535,000 after acquiring an additional 11,600,470 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

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

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $403.41 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $409.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $430.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.00 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $356.28 and a 52 week high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 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 previous year, the company earned $3.46 EPS. The business's revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft won a major healthcare AI win, with NHS England planning a rollout of Microsoft 365 Copilot to 505,000 clinicians and staff. The deal could expand recurring Copilot adoption and reinforces Microsoft’s AI monetization story. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts pointed to fresh support for Azure and Microsoft’s broader AI cloud business, including commentary that rising AI infrastructure demand could boost cloud upside and longer-term earnings growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft also received positive coverage around its AI strategy, with articles highlighting its agentic AI ambitions and Citi reaffirming a Buy rating with a $620 price target, signaling continued Wall Street confidence. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft’s open-source GitHub projects were reportedly compromised by hackers trying to steal AI developer logins, which is a security concern but not yet a clear direct financial hit. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several pieces discussed Microsoft’s long-term AI position, OpenAI relationship, and stock valuation, but these were mostly commentary rather than new business updates. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft stock is also facing pressure from reports that it is “sinking” despite some positive news, reflecting investor caution after recent gains and a broader rotation away from mega-cap tech. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Short-interest data and hedge-fund activity added to the cautious tone, with articles noting Microsoft has been a recent target of heavy debate and that David Tepper sold most of Appaloosa’s Microsoft position. Article Title

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $586.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Microsoft to a "buy" rating and set a $485.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $556.00 to $555.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. China Renaissance cut their price target on Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Citizens Jmp started coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Monday, June 1st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $550.00 price objective for the company. Forty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $561.20.

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).

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.