Gerald Baker Financial Group LLC Makes New $7.04 Million Investment in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Gerald Baker Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 19,032 shares of the software giant’s stock, valued at approximately $7,045,000. Microsoft makes up about 2.4% of Gerald Baker Financial Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 51.3% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 287.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 3.0%

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $464.72 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.45 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.88, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $397.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $405.96. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $349.20 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The business’s revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.65 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of several research reports. Arete Research lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $730.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “market perform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. Argus reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $558.64.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure growth exceeded expectations. Azure revenue increased 43% year over year, and annual Azure sales surpassed $100 billion for the first time. Management also guided to approximately 45% Azure growth in the next quarter, reinforcing confidence in Microsoft’s cloud and enterprise AI demand. Microsoft Shares Jump After Strong Outlook and Solid AI-Driven Growth
• Positive Sentiment: The earnings beat was substantial. Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $90.01 billion and adjusted EPS of $4.74, above analyst estimates of $87.62 billion and $4.24, respectively. Net income reportedly rose 31%, while revenue increased about 18% year over year. Microsoft Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates as Cloud and AI Drive Results
• Positive Sentiment: AI monetization and financial discipline eased investor concerns. Microsoft 365 Copilot surpassed 30 million paid seats, its commercial remaining performance obligation reached $678 billion—up 84% year over year—and management held its capital-expenditure outlook broadly steady while emphasizing continued cash generation. Investors viewed this as a better balance between infrastructure investment and returns than some peers have demonstrated. Microsoft Eases AI Spending Concerns
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts largely reaffirmed bullish views, with several price-target increases, although estimates remain wide. Microsoft’s stock is now trading well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages after a historic rally, raising the possibility of increased volatility or profit-taking.
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft continues to face risks from data-center power constraints, chip costs, regulatory scrutiny and the enormous scale of AI investment. A reported cloud-security flaw that could have exposed customers adds another operational concern. Cyber Firm Wiz Reports Microsoft Cloud Flaw
• Negative Sentiment: Several law firms publicized a securities class-action lawsuit concerning investors who purchased Microsoft shares between May 1, 2025, and January 28, 2026, with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. Such announcements may create reputational and legal overhang, although they have not offset the earnings-driven optimism. Microsoft Securities Class Action Deadline

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total transaction of $1,812,780.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 47,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,122,009.12. This trade represents a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total transaction of $519,111.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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).