Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 36.4% in Q4 to 39,808 shares (worth $19.25 million), making MSFT roughly 3.7% of the firm's portfolio and its sixth-largest holding.
• Microsoft beat quarterly estimates with $4.14 EPS vs. $3.86 expected and $81.27 billion in revenue (up 16.7% YoY), and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 ($3.64 annual, ~0.9% yield).
• Institutional investors own ~71.13% of MSFT with large recent moves from firms like Norges Bank, Nuveen and UBS, and analysts hold a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with a $577.58 target amid strong AI investments but mixed near-term sentiment.

Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 36.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,808 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 10,621 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 3.7% of Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $19,252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at $50,493,678,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 1st quarter worth about $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew 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 during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew 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 during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in 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 own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $418.07 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.39. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $391.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $452.88. The company has a market capitalization of $3.10 trillion, a P/E ratio of 26.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $355.67 and a 52-week high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.23 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $586.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $659.00 to $556.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Benchmark began coverage on Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Phillip Securities raised Microsoft from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Microsoft from $540.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $577.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the acquisition, 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft brought its Fairwater AI data center online ahead of schedule, a flagship facility Nadella called “the world’s most powerful” — supports MSFT’s edge in AI infrastructure and capacity expansion. Satya Nadella Praises 'World's Most Powerful' AI Datacenter Going Live Early
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is partnering with Accenture on an “agentic factory” AI system and appears to be deepening enterprise AI partnerships — this should drive cloud/AI services demand and long-term ARR expansion. Accenture's New Agentic Factory System Debuts With Microsoft
• Positive Sentiment: Adobe expanded its AI ecosystem and signed integrations with Microsoft, Anthropic, OpenAI and Nvidia — a vote of confidence in MSFT’s platform relevance and partner momentum. Adobe (ADBE) Inks Partnership with Microsoft (MSFT), Anthropic, OpenAI, and Nvidia (NVDA)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and investors are focused on Microsoft’s April 29 fiscal Q3 report; Evercore reiterates Buy and frames the quarter as “survive and advance,” so near-term volatility may hinge on guidance. Here’s What Evercore Expects from Microsoft’s Q3 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/sector theme: massive corporate capex into AI data centers is boosting infrastructure spending but not hiring — positive for hyperscalers’ capex-driven revenue opportunities, though it raises scrutiny on margin mix. AI data center spending is booming. Jobs aren't. Here's why
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary highlights both downside pressure (YTD drawdown) and contrarian buy cases; Zacks and other outlets flag MSFT as a hyperscaler to watch for AI-quantum upside. Top 2 AI-Quantum Hyperscalers to Watch in April With 20%+ Price Upside
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft’s stock has underperformed the broader market today and this week as investors price in increased competition from new AI tools (e.g., Anthropic/Claude variants, xAI Grok plugins) that could pressure software volumes or product mix. Here's Why Microsoft (MSFT) Fell More Than Broader Market
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst target cuts and caution: TD Cowen and others have trimmed targets, and Bank of America reset forecasts ahead of earnings — sentiment and lower targets add near-term selling pressure. Bank of America resets Microsoft stock forecast ahead of earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/sovereign risk: reports that Switzerland is reconsidering reliance on Microsoft raised headlines about potential contract/market risks in Europe. “Reduce Its Dependency on Microsoft”: Microsoft Stock NASDAQ: MSFT Slips as Switzerland Reconsiders
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern about AI disruption to legacy products persists — several outlets debate whether new agentic AI offerings will cannibalize Microsoft’s traditional software revenue. Should You Sell Microsoft (MSFT) on AI Disruption Fears?

Microsoft Company 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).

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