Kelman Lazarov Inc. Increases Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Kelman Lazarov Inc. increased its stake in Microsoft by 39.0% in Q4, adding 1,420 shares to hold 5,058 shares valued at about $2.446 million, and institutional investors now own roughly 71.13% of MSFT.
• Microsoft’s Q3 showed robust AI/cloud revenue growth—revenue up 18.3% and EPS of $4.27 beat estimates—fueling analyst price‑target upgrades and continued institutional buying.
• Key near‑term risks include a massive AI data‑center buildout with an estimated $190B capex guide that could pressure margins and ESG goals, alongside security concerns after reports of a new hacker group exploiting Microsoft Teams.

Kelman Lazarov Inc. increased its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 39.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,058 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 1,420 shares during the period. Kelman Lazarov Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $2,446,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 691,386,214 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $259,539,471,000 after buying an additional 7,314,509 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Microsoft by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 299,196,519 shares of the software giant's stock worth $148,823,341,000 after purchasing an additional 3,166,275 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 179,001,751 shares of the software giant's stock worth $88,714,256,000 after purchasing an additional 3,532,054 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth $50,493,678,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Microsoft by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock worth $35,316,535,000 after purchasing an additional 11,600,470 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Top analyst price‑target upgrades lift sentiment; one note cited ~60% upside to a new street‑high target, supporting buy interest. Microsoft Stock Lands a New Street‑High Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: An influential research shop lifted its price target materially (Arete to $870), signaling strong conviction that AI/cloud execution will drive long‑term upside. Arete Research Boosts Microsoft Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results continue to show robust AI/cloud revenue growth and EPS beats, underpinning the bull case for durable top‑line momentum. Microsoft Q3 Revenues Jump 18% on AI & Cloud
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional buying: Fisher Asset Management and other funds have increased stakes, which can provide support to the stock. Fisher Asset Management Boosts Microsoft Stake
• Neutral Sentiment: Xbox product pruning (Copilot discontinuation) trimmed consumer AI spend and was interpreted positively by some investors as discipline on unprofitable initiatives. Xbox Discontinues Copilot
• Neutral Sentiment: Street reaction is mixed: some firms trimmed targets but kept Buy ratings, reflecting split views on near‑term capex vs. long‑term AI growth. Here’s What the Street Thinks About Microsoft Post‑Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Big AI data‑center buildout is driving a large ($190B) capex guide and discussions about shelving Microsoft’s 2030 hourly clean‑energy match target — a potential ESG/regulatory and reputational headwind. Microsoft May Shelve 2030 Clean Energy Target
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain uneasy about the size and timing of AI spending; some analysts warn margin pressure and elevated capex could weigh on near‑term returns. Is Microsoft Stock an Undervalued Stock to Buy?
• Negative Sentiment: Security concern: reports of a new hacker group exploiting Microsoft Teams add short‑term risk around remediation costs and customer confidence in collaboration tools. New Hacker Group Exploits Teams

Microsoft Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $420.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The company has a 50-day moving average of $396.79 and a 200 day moving average of $445.39. The firm has a market cap of $3.13 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.06, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $356.28 and a 1 year high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. Microsoft's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.46 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.67%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, 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 directly owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on MSFT. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $641.00 to $646.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, March 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $562.44.

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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