Xena Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,922 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $930,000. Microsoft accounts for approximately 1.1% of Xena Financial Planning LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter worth $38,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter valued at $49,000. University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Stance Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter valued at about $54,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MSFT. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Daiwa Securities Group decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Benchmark initiated coverage on Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $586.26.
View Our Latest Report on Microsoft
Trending Headlines about Microsoft
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
- Positive Sentiment: BNP Paribas analyst reiterates confidence that Azure can still “crush estimates” despite investor worries about $150B+ AI spending, arguing Microsoft is on a “war footing” (Copilot overhaul) that supports continued cloud revenue upside. Microsoft Azure Still Poised To Crush Estimates Despite $150 Billion Spending Fears: Analyst
- Positive Sentiment: Analysis pieces argue recent sell‑off may be overdone — framing capex concerns as temporary and highlighting MSFT’s long‑term edge in agentic AI, custom silicon and enterprise suites. This supports the bull case for patient investors. Microsoft: Temporary CapEx Panic Masks The Long-Term Edge
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s ecosystem continues to show incremental wins—third‑party offerings landing in the Microsoft Marketplace and M12 (Microsoft’s venture arm) participating in industry deals—helping sustain commercial momentum. A2A Protocol / Marketplace Adoption
- Neutral Sentiment: OpenAI’s large‑scale monetization plans (reported ad revenue ambitions) could alter the AI market structure; MSFT’s exposure to OpenAI is material, but implications are mixed for Microsoft’s direct revenue and strategic posture. How OpenAI's Reported Ad Plans Could Change the AI Business Model
- Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft confirmed its Q3 earnings release date (April 29) — a near‑term catalyst that could amplify moves if results or guidance deviate from expectations. Microsoft announces quarterly earnings release date
- Negative Sentiment: Product execution concerns surfaced as reports note Copilot UI changes and some institutional customers favoring Anthropic’s Claude — signs of competitive pressure and potential customer churn in AI assistant adoption. Microsoft's Copilot 'Feels Like Teams:' Why This Fund Manager Is Swapping It For Claude
- Negative Sentiment: Industry reports point to real‑world constraints (land, power, permits) forcing hyperscalers to delay or scrap data center projects — a direct challenge to MSFT’s ability to scale cloud capacity quickly without steep incremental costs. While Amazon, Microsoft, Google Struggle With AI On Land — China Looks To The Sea
- Negative Sentiment: Macro and sector weakness: new console sales data and broader software slump headlines have pressured MSFT shares alongside peers, and at least one large investor disclosed trimming a Microsoft stake. Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft Stocks All Fall on New Video Game Console Sales Data
Microsoft Stock Performance
NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $370.87 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $355.67 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a 50-day moving average of $392.11 and a 200-day moving average of $458.10. The firm has a market cap of $2.75 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.11.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given 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 is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 22.76%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft
In other news, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the firm'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 completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of Microsoft 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 transaction, 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.
About Microsoft
(
Free Report)
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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