Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Bought by XY Planning Network Inc.

XY Planning Network Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 73.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,034 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 1,280 shares during the period. XY Planning Network Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,467,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. PayPay Securities Corp grew its holdings in Microsoft by 22.7% during the fourth quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 173 shares of the software giant's stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. MRWM Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. MRWM Advisors LLC now owns 1,909 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $923,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Farnam Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Farnam Financial LLC now owns 2,269 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,098,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. DeLarme Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $908,000. Finally, Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 3,202 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,548,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $414.10 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $396.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $446.04. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $356.28 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The company has a market capitalization of $3.08 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.65, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.46 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on MSFT shares. Evercore reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $580.00 to $510.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $586.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Microsoft from $392.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, April 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $562.44.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results and product pruning support near‑term momentum — Microsoft reported fiscal Q3 revenue of $82.89B and EPS that beat estimates; investors also reacted positively to Xbox winding down the Copilot assistant, which markets interpret as cost discipline after strong cloud/AI results. Microsoft (MSFT) Stock Gains as Xbox Discontinues Copilot AI Assistant
• Positive Sentiment: Big analyst bullishness lifts sentiment — Arete Research raised its price target sharply (to $870), signaling conviction in Microsoft’s long‑term AI/cloud cash flows and providing a positive catalyst for momentum investors. Arete Research Boosts Microsoft Price Target to $870
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional buying — Fisher Asset Management and Antipodes both increased stakes, an endorsement that can support price stability and reduce near‑term downside risk from large‑cap selling. Fisher Asset Management Boosts Microsoft Stake
• Neutral Sentiment: Government AI oversight — Microsoft agreed to give U.S. agencies early access to new AI models for security reviews. This reduces regulatory uncertainty in the short term but increases compliance/operational friction. Microsoft, xAI and Google will share AI models with US govt
• Neutral Sentiment: Workforce reshaping — Microsoft launched a voluntary buyout program to trim costs; it may improve margins long‑term but risks losing experienced staff in the near term. Microsoft Just Launched a Major Voluntary Buyout
• Negative Sentiment: Clean‑energy goal under pressure — Microsoft’s rapid AI data‑center buildout may force it to delay or scale back its ambitious 2030 hourly clean‑energy matching target, creating ESG and potential cost/headline risk. That tension can weigh on multiple investor groups. Microsoft's AI data center push is colliding with its clean power goals
• Negative Sentiment: Rising capex and margin pressure — Analysts and commentators flag much higher AI‑related capital spending (and memory costs), which clouds near‑term free cash flow and is a core reason some investors have trimmed price targets despite revenue beats. Microsoft's Capex Spending for 2026 Is 23% Higher Than Expected

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 83,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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