Baxter Bros Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Baxter Bros Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 133,161 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,551 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 8.0% of Baxter Bros Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Baxter Bros Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $68,971,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Market Street Wealth Management Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 2.8% during the third quarter. Market Street Wealth Management Advisors LLC now owns 5,679 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,941,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Quantum Financial Planning Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. Quantum Financial Planning Services Inc. now owns 3,548 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,838,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Meritas Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 30.0% during the 3rd quarter. Meritas Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,181 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,201,000 after purchasing an additional 1,428 shares in the last quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 10,062 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $5,212,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,534 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,384,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $625.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $625.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Guggenheim set a $675.00 price target on Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $650.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $631.03.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $518.64, for a total value of $19,967,640.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 461,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $239,402,668.08. This represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total transaction of $1,364,352.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 55,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,703,959.04. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 54,100 shares of company stock valued at $27,598,872. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $487.54 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The company has a market capitalization of $3.62 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $495.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $504.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $77.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.49 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 35.71%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.89%.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CEO-led shakeup to accelerate AI execution — reports say Satya Nadella reorganized senior leadership to inject urgency into Microsoft’s AI push, a move investors view as supportive for faster Copilot/Azure monetization. Microsoft CEO Injects ‘Sense of Urgency’ Into AI Efforts
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street bullish on 2026 AI upside — several analyst notes and forecasts point to a large AI-driven revenue lift (one headline cites a ~30% upside scenario), supporting investor optimism about multiple expansion if AI monetization becomes visible. Microsoft Stock Forecast: Why Wall Street Sees a 30% AI-Fueled Jump for MSFT in 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Copilot / Dynamics 365 & Azure adoption remain tangible growth levers — Dynamics 365 and Copilot adoption are cited as drivers of enterprise seat upgrades and cloud consumption, underpinning recurring revenue and higher ARPU potential. Can Microsoft Stock Rally on Dynamics 365 Business Applications?
• Positive Sentiment: Xbox Cloud Gaming exits beta — cloud gaming availability for Game Pass subscribers can broaden engagement and recurring revenue in Microsoft’s gaming segment (service-led monetization vs. one-time hardware cycles). Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Announces Availability of Xbox Cloud Gaming
• Neutral Sentiment: Policy and hiring tailwinds — new federal bill (AI Talent Act) aims to streamline AI hiring across agencies; long term this could ease talent constraints for cloud/AI vendors but has limited near-term revenue impact. New Bill: Representative Sara Jacobs introduces H.R. 6573: AI Talent Act
• Neutral Sentiment: ESG recognition may broaden buyer base — Microsoft shows up on 2026 ESG stock lists, which can attract allocation from sustainability-focused funds but is not a primary earnings driver. 3 ESG Stocks to Add to Your Portfolio for Sustainable Returns in 2026
• Negative Sentiment: High AI capex and spending scrutiny — analysts are questioning whether massive AI investments across the Magnificent Seven will pressure free cash flow and near-term margins; this keeps upside tied to visible monetization of AI features. Buy Stock in the Mag 7 Hyperscalers or Are They Spending Too Much?
• Negative Sentiment: Hardware supply issues risk gaming timing — “RAMpocalypse” reports indicate potential delays for next-gen consoles, which could push Xbox hardware revenue further out (though Microsoft’s services exposure cushions the impact). What the RAMpocalypse Means for Sony’s PlayStation 6 & Microsoft’s (MSFT) Next Xbox

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).