Baer Investment Advisory LLC Grows Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Baer Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 324.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,327 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,011 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 0.8% of Baer Investment Advisory LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Baer Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $6,784,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 15,955,898 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Microsoft by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 306,150,608 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $148,060,557,000 after acquiring an additional 6,388,930 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,618,400 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $88,056,019,000 after purchasing an additional 1,911,142 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Microsoft by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 121,220,561 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $58,624,690,000 after purchasing an additional 980,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at about $50,664,631,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Citizens Jmp assumed 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, July 6th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $525.00 price objective (up from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Forty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $557.96.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is pushing sales teams to sell its AI offerings as a more secure and lower-cost alternative to OpenAI and Anthropic, highlighting its ability to monetize enterprise demand and defend its AI ecosystem. Microsoft Coaches Sales Staff to Challenge OpenAI and Anthropic on Costs and Security
• Positive Sentiment: 3M announced a strategic partnership with Microsoft tied to Azure data centers and enterprise transformation, which adds another validation point for Microsoft’s cloud and AI infrastructure strategy. 3M and Microsoft announce strategic partnership to advance AI data center infrastructure and enterprise transformation
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is overhauling its cybersecurity business to capture more spending from AI-driven threats, which could open a new growth lane as customers increase security budgets. Microsoft (MSFT) Overhauls Cybersecurity Business to Cash In on AI Threats
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft launched a $2.5 billion initiative to help large customers deploy AI systems around their own data and workflows, reinforcing its enterprise AI moat. How Microsoft (MSFT) Is Deepening Its Enterprise AI Moat With a $2.5 Billion Customer Deployment Initiative

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $395.63 on Thursday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $349.20 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $401.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $412.04. The company has a market cap of $2.94 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.55, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 39.34%.The firm had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.46 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.67%.

About Microsoft

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).