Bridges Investment Management Inc. Has $476.18 Million Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Bridges Investment Management Inc. lessened its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 919,347 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 17,492 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 6.1% of Bridges Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Bridges Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $476,176,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation bought a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $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 the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total transaction of $6,266,880.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 129,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,577,620.48. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of several research reports. Melius Research set a $430.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $450.00 price target on Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $591.95.

Microsoft Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $392.74 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $443.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $483.24. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $555.45. The company has a market capitalization of $2.92 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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. Research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at BNP and others say OpenAI’s large new funding round should still benefit Microsoft because of its deep Azure and infrastructure ties — a reminder that MSFT remains a key AI partner and infrastructure provider. OpenAI’s massive funding round should benefit Microsoft, Oracle: BNP
• Positive Sentiment: An insider (director Stanton John) bought roughly $2M of MSFT stock, signalling confidence from management-level insiders during the pullback. Director Stanton John Just Bought $2 Million of Microsoft Stock
• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat / Altimetry note that Microsoft is “at the center of AI” with high switching costs and under-appreciated fundamentals — an argument that current valuation weakness is sentiment-driven and could reverse. AI Is Separating Software Winners From Losers, 2 Experts Explain
• Positive Sentiment: Dynamics 365 business applications continue to post solid mid-teens to high‑teens growth and are cited as a consistent driver of Productivity & Business Processes revenue — a durable growth stream beyond Azure. Can Microsoft Stock Rally on Dynamics 365 Business Applications?
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft announced its next quarterly dividend payable March 13 — a steady income signal but unlikely to move the stock materially amid the current narrative-driven trading. Microsoft to pay dividends on March 13; Here’s how much 100 MSFT shares will earn
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction to OpenAI’s announcement cut both ways: Microsoft wasn’t named among some of the latest funding/partner headlines, prompting investor worry about its standing with OpenAI and driving selling pressure. What’s Behind The Drop In Microsoft Stock?
• Negative Sentiment: Japan’s authorities carried out a raid tied to suspected antitrust issues around Microsoft’s cloud business, raising regulatory risk in a major market. Microsoft Japan raided over suspected violation of anti-monopoly law, source says
• Negative Sentiment: Operational/real‑estate headwinds: reports of data center/building delays and related execution noise have been cited as a near-term drag on sentiment. “On Hold Until Further Notice”: Microsoft Stock Slumps With Building Delay
• Negative Sentiment: Broader AI-capex and semiconductor market jitters (Nvidia-centric weakness) are depressing the megacap tech complex; investors are weighing heavy industry capex against margins and balance-sheet strain. That macro pressure is spilling over to Microsoft. Nvidia Fails to Reassure—Heard on the 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).