GAM Holding AG Purchases 4,712 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

GAM Holding AG grew its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 177,584 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 4,712 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 5.7% of GAM Holding AG’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. GAM Holding AG’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $91,980,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quattro Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 21.6% in the third quarter. Quattro Financial Advisors LLC now owns 56,388 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,206,000 after acquiring an additional 10,008 shares in the last quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC now owns 40,845 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $21,156,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the period. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Microsoft by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. now owns 31,171 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $16,145,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Microsoft by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. now owns 10,560 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,470,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet North America Advisors SA lifted its stake in Microsoft by 1.3% in the third quarter. Pictet North America Advisors SA now owns 86,292 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $44,543,000 after buying an additional 1,068 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Friday, November 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lowered their target price on Microsoft from $625.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Microsoft from $700.00 to $665.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Wolfe Research reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $675.00 to $625.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, HSBC lifted their target price on Microsoft from $643.00 to $648.00 in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $630.37.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and Street optimism — Wedbush’s Dan Ives and others are positioning Microsoft as set for strong Q4 results tied to AI/cloud momentum, helping lift sentiment ahead of earnings. Dan Ives: Very Strong Q4 Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Broker reaffirmation — Morgan Stanley kept an Overweight rating and high $650 target based on survey data showing rising enterprise software spend, supporting longer‑term upside expectations. Morgan Stanley Overweight
• Positive Sentiment: OpenAI monetization boost — OpenAI’s worldwide rollout of the lower‑cost ChatGPT Go subscription expands the addressable market for AI services where Microsoft has strategic exposure, lifting revenue hopes. OpenAI ChatGPT Go Worldwide
• Positive Sentiment: Data‑center expansion/community plan — News of a $500M–$1B Michigan data‑center push and Microsoft’s “community‑first” messaging shows continued capex to support Azure/AI growth, which investors view as reinforcing future revenue streams despite near‑term costs. Michigan Data Center Investment
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical/short‑term rebound thesis — Some analysts note MSFT is oversold and could see a technical bounce ahead of earnings, which supports trading interest but is not a fundamental catalyst. Zacks: Ripe for Turnaround
• Neutral Sentiment: Minor operational housekeeping — The company closed some on‑campus libraries, a small cost/real‑estate move that got attention but is unlikely to materially affect earnings. MSFT Shuts Libraries
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory probe into Activision Blizzard — Italy opened investigations into alleged “misleading and aggressive” in‑game purchase practices for Call of Duty Mobile and Diablo Immortal, creating reputational and potential financial risk for MSFT’s gaming unit. Italy Investigates Activision
• Negative Sentiment: Legal risk from Musk trial — A judge cleared Elon Musk’s suit against OpenAI and Microsoft to proceed to a jury trial in April, introducing headline legal overhang and potential distraction/costs. Musk Trial Moves Forward
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory scrutiny and analyst trim — Switzerland opened a probe into Microsoft’s licensing fees and Barclays lowered its price target, both adding near‑term headwinds to sentiment amid capex worries and noted insider selling. Swiss Probe into Licensing Fees

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $518.64, for a total value of $19,967,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 461,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $239,402,668.08. This trade represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total value of $1,364,352.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 55,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,703,959.04. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,100 shares of company stock worth $27,598,872. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

MSFT opened at $459.86 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $483.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $502.73. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.42 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.71, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.48. The firm 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 25.89%.

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).