Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Elevatus Welath Management's Largest Position

Key Points

• Elevatus Wealth Management increased its stake in Microsoft by 6.2% in Q4 to 40,684 shares (worth $19,676,000), making MSFT roughly 5.4% of the firm's holdings and its largest position.
• Institutional investors own 71.13% of Microsoft, led by Vanguard (705,077,786 shares, ~$350.7B), State Street (299,196,519 shares) and other large holders, while Norges Bank initiated a roughly $50.5B position and Northern Trust materially boosted its stake.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a $588.97 average price target, and recent strategic moves — including a reported $10 billion Japan AI/datacenter investment and a push to build in‑house frontier AI models — support the long‑term AI revenue thesis despite near‑term headwinds.

Elevatus Welath Management lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 40,684 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 2,390 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 5.4% of Elevatus Welath Management's holdings, making the stock its largest position. Elevatus Welath Management's holdings in Microsoft were worth $19,676,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Microsoft by 2.0% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 705,077,786 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $350,712,742,000 after acquiring an additional 13,691,572 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake 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 lifted its stake 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 valued at $50,493,678,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted 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 valued at $35,316,535,000 after purchasing an additional 11,600,470 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. New Street Research upped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $670.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $650.00 to $600.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Phillip Securities upgraded Microsoft from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. DZ Bank reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $540.00 price target on Microsoft and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $588.97.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft pledged a major strategic buildout in Japan — a $10 billion, multi‑year plan to fund AI data centers, cybersecurity and workforce training with partners including SoftBank and Sakura Internet, underpinning long‑term cloud/A.I. revenue opportunities and local partnerships. Microsoft to invest $10 billion in Japan for AI and cyber defence expansion
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft rolled out multiple proprietary AI models and signaled it will build frontier models in‑house — a strategic shift to reduce dependence on partners and capture more of the AI stack (product control, margins and IP). This supports the long‑term AI revenue thesis. Microsoft building its own high-powered AI models as it looks to slash dependence on OpenAI
• Positive Sentiment: Management says Copilot sales targets were met after changing the go‑to‑market approach (moving to paid/subscription rather than broad bundling), a sign of product monetization gaining traction. That helps offset concerns about adoption. Microsoft hits Copilot sales goals after strategy shift - Bloomberg
• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark initiated coverage / and some street notes raised targets (coverage and a $675 price target were reported), providing analyst support that could lift sentiment if follow‑through occurs. Microsoft Charts $10 Billion of Outlays in AI-Eager Japan
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft announced local partnerships and community programs (e.g., Victoria University datacenter academy) that support talent pipeline and social license for datacenter expansion — constructive but longer‑dated impact. Microsoft Corp (MSFT) Partners with Victoria University on Datacenter Community Pledge
• Neutral Sentiment: Smaller ecosystem developments (Sakura Internet confirming talks, local partners’ stock moves) amplify the Japan story but are execution‑dependent; useful context for investors tracking regional rollout. SAKURA Internet Confirms Exploratory AI Cloud Collaboration Talks With Microsoft Japan
• Negative Sentiment: Recent quarterly performance and commentary have disappointed some investors — headlines describe a Q1 "slide" and the worst quarterly drop since 2008 for MSFT, feeding the narrative of short‑term weakness and valuation re‑rating. That continues to pressure the stock. After Microsoft’s Q1 Slide, Are the Bulls Still On Board?
• Negative Sentiment: Several large funds / billionaires have trimmed MSFT positions in recent 13F disclosures (D.E. Shaw, Steve Cohen, Dan Loeb), signaling some institutional profit‑taking amid concerns over cloud supply constraints and guidance — a headwind for near‑term flows. Microsoft Corporation (MSFT): Billionaire Steve Cohen Trims Position
• Negative Sentiment: Security/product risks surfaced (reports on "AI recommendation poisoning") and ongoing execution demands for in‑house frontier models add operational risk and could temper upside if issues emerge. AI Recommendation Poisoning: Why Microsoft NASDAQ: MSFT Is Fighting So Hard

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 83,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $373.46 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.77 trillion, a PE ratio of 23.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.39. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $400.76 and a 200 day moving average of $462.28.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The business had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.23 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.76%.

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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