PFG Investments LLC Buys 1,962 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

PFG Investments LLC raised its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 125,035 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,962 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 3.4% of PFG Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $64,762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.7%

MSFT opened at $399.60 on Thursday. 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 Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $455.46 and a 200-day moving average of $489.92. The company has a market capitalization of $2.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.08.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $81.27 billion during 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 company’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.23 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.76%.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft secured a deal to lock in a 20% share of OpenAI’s revenue through 2032 — a material, long-duration cash-flow stream that reinforces MSFT’s strategic AI partnership and upside if OpenAI monetizes broadly. Microsoft Locks In 20% Of OpenAI’s Revenue
• Positive Sentiment: Insider buying: director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 MSFT shares, signaling management confidence and giving investors a modest behavioral vote of confidence. Insider Purchase: Director at $MSFT Buys 5,000 Shares
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft reaffirmed its renewable-energy commitments—continuing to match its electricity needs with clean power as it scales data-center capacity, which reduces regulatory/ESG risk for long-term investors. Microsoft to keep buying renewable energy to match electricity needs
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street interest: notes calling Microsoft “under-owned” and continued buy/overweight ratings (and a median price target well above current levels) provide conviction for inflows from institutional investors. Morgan Stanley: Microsoft is under-owned
• Neutral Sentiment: Global growth push: Microsoft says it’s on pace to invest ~$50B in AI across the “Global South” through 2030 — a major long-term market expansion that could drive growth but also requires heavy up-front capex and multi-year execution. Microsoft $50B Global South AI push
• Neutral Sentiment: Partnerships/marketplace traction: CrowdStrike’s Falcon platform is now on Microsoft Marketplace, easing procurement for customers and reinforcing MSFT’s enterprise security ecosystem (incremental revenue/ stickiness but limited immediate top-line impact). Falcon on Microsoft Marketplace
• Negative Sentiment: AI risks and bugs: reports of a Copilot/Office bug and new “AI recommendation poisoning” threats have raised short-term security and quality concerns around Microsoft’s AI products, which can pressure enterprise adoption sentiment. New AI-Related Bug Does Not Dampen Microsoft Stock AI Recommendation Poisoning
• Negative Sentiment: Investor rotation and spending concerns: some funds are trimming MSFT amid worries that aggressive AI infrastructure and capex could weigh near-term margins — paired with downgrades and headlines about investor selling that create volatility. Investors Dump Microsoft Shares Melius Research Downgrades Microsoft

Insider Buying and Selling 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 purchased at an average price of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total value of $1,364,352.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 55,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,703,959.04. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on MSFT. Arete Research boosted their price target on Microsoft from $710.00 to $730.00 in a research note on Monday, October 27th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Microsoft from $625.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Microsoft from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, DZ Bank restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $591.95.

Microsoft 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).