Bollard Group LLC Boosts Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Bollard Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 322,656 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,577 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 3.9% of Bollard Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Bollard Group LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $167,120,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brick & Kyle Associates raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Brick & Kyle Associates now owns 28,236 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $14,625,000 after buying an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Coatue Management LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 18.1% in the third quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 4,643,050 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,404,868,000 after acquiring an additional 710,653 shares in the last quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 7.2% in the third quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC now owns 1,207,610 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $625,482,000 after acquiring an additional 80,650 shares during the last quarter. Carter Financial Group INC. raised its position in Microsoft by 2.7% during the third quarter. Carter Financial Group INC. now owns 6,857 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,551,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ceeto Capital Group LLC raised its position in Microsoft by 5.1% during the third quarter. Ceeto Capital Group LLC now owns 24,855 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $12,874,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owned 137,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Stanton purchased 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, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research reports. New Street Research upped their price objective on Microsoft from $670.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, March 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $591.95.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $399.95 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $426.00 and a 200 day moving average of $475.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly 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 analysts’ expectations of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft signed a letter of intent to receive 1.35GW of NVIDIA Vera Rubin NVL72 GPU systems at Nscale’s new West Virginia “Monarch” AI campus — a clear signal Microsoft is securing large-scale external AI capacity to support customer demand and accelerate AI workloads. Nscale and Microsoft Announce Collaboration with NVIDIA and Caterpillar to Deliver 1.35GW of NVIDIA Vera Rubin NVL72 GPUs at Flagship AI Factory Campus in West Virginia
• Positive Sentiment: Nvidia-backed Nscale acquired a 2,250-acre campus and plans up to 8GW of compute there — the scale of this buildout increases available AI capacity in which Microsoft can be a customer/partner, easing short-term Azure capacity constraints and supporting long-term cloud/AI revenue growth. Nvidia-Backed Nscale Plans Huge Data Center Cluster in West Virginia
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary and analysts continue to call Microsoft a long-term AI winner and a potential buying opportunity amid the pullback — bullish analyst notes can support near-term buying interest and reduce downside from headline-driven volatility. Microsoft Stock (NASDAQ:MSFT) Tips Up With New Scam-Fighting Coalition Microsoft Is ‘Long-Term Winner’ In AI Arms Race—Sell-Off Is Buying ‘Opportunity,’ Says Don Nesbitt
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft joined or backed anti-scam initiatives — good for reputation and user trust but limited direct near-term earnings impact. Microsoft Stock (NASDAQ:MSFT) Tips Up With New Scam-Fighting Coalition
• Neutral Sentiment: Big-tech carbon credit purchases are rising as AI capacity expands; Microsoft is a leader — this signals higher ESG spending and potential margin/headline impacts, but it also mitigates regulatory/PR risks. Big Tech purchases of carbon credits explode amid AI race, with Microsoft leading the way
• Negative Sentiment: Industry article flags nearly $700B of off‑balance-sheet data center leases led by Microsoft/peers — a reminder that massive AI infrastructure commitments carry financial and execution risk if revenue growth lags. Data Center Leases: Is Spending Mindful Of Revenues?
• Negative Sentiment: Critical commentary and downgrade talk emphasize macro, competition and geopolitical/war-related risks to Microsoft’s outlook — such narratives can pressure sentiment and valuation multiples even if fundamentals remain strong. Microsoft: Macrohard, Competition, And War-Related Fears (Rating Downgrade)
• Negative Sentiment: High-profile investor selling (e.g., Peter Thiel’s fund trimming Microsoft) can fuel short-term negative headlines and investor nervousness despite differing long-term views. Palantir Billionaire Peter Thiel Sells 3 AI Stocks in a $74 Million Warning to Wall Street.

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).