Van Den Berg Bulks Up on Microsoft as Analysts Remain Bullish

Van Den Berg Management I Inc., a hedge fund, has significantly increased its stake in Microsoft Corporation. In the first quarter, the company acquired an additional 10,177 shares of MSFT stock, boosting its total holdings by 58.8%. This brings Van Den Berg's total share count to 27,496 and its investment value to $10,178,000.

The software giant makes up approximately 2.3% of the fund's holdings, making it the company's 13th biggest holding. Other hedge funds and institutional investors have also increased their stakes in Microsoft during the first quarter, including Dempze Nancy E, Entropy Technologies LP, Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC, Boreal Capital Management LLC, and Sentinel Advisory Group LLC.

Analysts have been optimistic about Microsoft's prospects, with Cantor Fitzgerald raising its target price to $522.00 and maintaining an 'overweight' rating. Bernstein also raised its target price to $660 and maintained an 'outperform' rating, citing Azure growth and backlog as potential catalysts for a year-end rally.

Microsoft has reported stronger-than-expected profitability and revenue in its latest earnings, with Azure growth and Copilot adoption reinforcing the view that substantial AI investment is beginning to generate returns. The company's dividend payout ratio is 20.27%, and it recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share.