Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. Sells 11,231 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. decreased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 449,470 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 11,231 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 12.6% of Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $217,373,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth $50,493,678,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 1st quarter valued at $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 500.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $30,840,432,000 after buying an additional 49,618,571 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 49,640.3% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $14,905,904,000 after buying an additional 29,906,791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake 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 buying an additional 11,600,470 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $420.26 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.12 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $391.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $455.12. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $355.67 and a 12-month high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.23 EPS. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $660.00 to $635.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Benchmark started coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Wolfe Research dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $530.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, New Street Research increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $670.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $577.58.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 83,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the firm’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Historic multi‑day rally and an “extreme bounce” vs. options pricing — momentum traders are piling in after an unusually large short‑term rebound that options markets hadn’t priced. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: New commercial wins and partnerships widen enterprise AI reach — a five‑year strategic AI, cybersecurity and cloud deal with Stellantis expands Microsoft’s addressable market in automotive software and services. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure buildouts support product adoption — Microsoft secured spare capacity at a Norway data center originally tied to OpenAI (adding large GPU capacity) and an early online Fairweather data center, strengthening Azure’s AI compute supply. Read More. • Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street support remains — TD Cowen reiterated a Buy with a $540 target (still below prior $610 target) and other analysts continue to see long‑term AI/cloud upside, giving investors conviction to buy the dip. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Government adoption of Microsoft AI tools (CFTC surveillance) highlights public‑sector demand but is unlikely to move near‑term revenue materially — reflects platform credibility more than a big immediate revenue boost. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Heavy options and unusual volume are amplifying moves — some of the price action reflects positioning and technical dynamics rather than fundamental news. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Competition and product risk — reports that Anthropic/OpenAI moves and new models (Claude Mythos) could pressure Copilot adoption raise execution and competitive risk for Microsoft’s AI offerings. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst caution and valuation headwinds — some firms recently cut price targets (Piper Sandler, Robert W. Baird, etc.) and investors remain concerned about heavy AI capex (data‑center spending) weighing on near‑term returns. Read More. • Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Reputational/ESG noise — the NYT piece on Microsoft scaling back carbon‑removal commitments could prompt criticism and potential impairments or higher scrutiny. Read More.

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).