Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Bought by Zhang Financial LLC

Key Points

• Zhang Financial increased its Microsoft stake by 8.1% in the first quarter to 73,448 shares valued at approximately $27.2 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft’s outstanding stock.
• Microsoft reported a strong quarter, with revenue of $90.01 billion and EPS of $4.74, both exceeding analyst expectations; revenue rose 17.7% year over year. Azure growth and expanding AI monetization—including more than 30 million paid Copilot seats—supported investor optimism.
• Analysts maintain a broadly bullish outlook, with 42 Buy ratings and five Holds and a consensus price target of $558.64, though target cuts, insider selling, AI investment costs, regulatory scrutiny and cloud-security risks remain concerns.

Zhang Financial LLC grew its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 8.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 73,448 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 5,520 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 0.9% of Zhang Financial LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Zhang Financial LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $27,188,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Microsoft by 8.4% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 6,921,677 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $2,562,197,000 after purchasing an additional 537,634 shares during the period. Taylor Securities Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth $2,616,000. Markel Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the first quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 537,630 shares of the software giant's stock worth $199,014,000 after buying an additional 1,950 shares during the period. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 12,492 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $6,041,000 after buying an additional 1,698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 22.1% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 272,424 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $131,750,000 after buying an additional 49,371 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays decreased their target price on Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $646.00 to $647.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. DZ Bank reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. HSBC lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $593.00 to $571.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $540.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Forty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $558.64.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $464.72 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The company has a market cap of $3.45 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.10. The stock's 50-day moving average is $397.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $405.45. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $555.45.

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

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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

Microsoft News Roundup

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares in the company, valued at $19,122,009.12. The trade was a 8.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total transaction of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,928,792.23. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 23,762 shares of company stock worth $10,508,361 in the last 90 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).

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