Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stock Holdings Decreased by J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG trimmed its Microsoft stake by 1.9% in Q4 to 663,366 shares (now its largest position at ~5.2% of the portfolio), valued at about $320.9 million after selling 13,049 shares.
• Insider activity was mixed: EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares for roughly $5.05 million (an 8.2% reduction in her holding), while Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares for about $1.99 million, increasing his position.
• Analysts maintain a "Moderate Buy" consensus on MSFT with an average price target of $588.97, even as investors weigh risks from AI capex, Copilot monetization and recent executive departures.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lowered its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 663,366 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 13,049 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 5.2% of J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's portfolio, making the stock its largest position. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in Microsoft were worth $320,906,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter worth $38,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter worth $49,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 83,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $540.00 target price on shares of Microsoft and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Melius Research set a $430.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $588.97.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street analyst support and bullish research are drawing buyers — major firms (including Goldman and other brokers) are highlighting MSFT as a rebound candidate and publishing price targets well above current levels, which helps underpin today's rally. Goldman sees rebound for Microsoft
• Positive Sentiment: Product and partnership catalysts: Microsoft’s Agent 365 platform is moving to GA with launch partners (supporting enterprise governance for AI agents), and the company is expanding commercial AI tie-ups — tangible signs of enterprise monetization for Copilot/agent products. Reply selected as Microsoft Agent 365 launch partner
• Positive Sentiment: Consumer/PR boost from gaming: fresh details on Forza Horizon 6 and other Xbox updates have driven short‑term positive momentum for MSFT shares tied to Xbox/Xbox Game Pass engagement. Forza Horizon 6 details lift MSFT stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings schedule set — Microsoft will report FY2026 Q3 after the close on April 29; the date focuses attention on Azure growth, backlog metrics and free‑cash‑flow cadence at month‑end. Quarterly earnings release date announced
• Neutral Sentiment: Partner/partner‑ecosystem wins (Azure specializations, platform connectors) keep enterprise pipeline healthy but are incremental to revenue near term. Centrilogic earns Azure specialization
• Negative Sentiment: Executive turnover: another senior departure and the planned retirement of longtime exec Julia Liuson raise governance and continuity questions for developer tools and platform strategy; exits can sap sentiment until leadership transitions settle. Julia Liuson to retire Another senior departure at Microsoft
• Negative Sentiment: AI capex and Copilot adoption concerns continue to weigh: investors remain worried about rising infrastructure spend, slower-than-expected Copilot monetization and whether those costs will compress near‑term margins. That narrative has driven much of the stock’s recent re‑rating. Why MSFT stock has been shredded
• Negative Sentiment: Security and legal noise: reports of a developer account lock affecting VeraCrypt updates and an amended lawsuit filing referencing Microsoft add episodic risk that can amplify short‑term volatility. VeraCrypt account termination / Windows update disruption reports

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $374.33 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $353.10 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The company has a market capitalization of $2.78 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a fifty day moving average of $394.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $459.69.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.28. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. The company had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.23 earnings per share. Microsoft's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 22.76%.

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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