Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Acquired by FORA Capital LLC

FORA Capital LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 44.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 23,965 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 7,398 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 2.2% of FORA Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. FORA Capital LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $12,413,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 51.3% during 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 bought a new stake in Microsoft in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in 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 about $50,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $395.55 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.94 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.74, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.39. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $427.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $476.21.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.23 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 22.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on MSFT. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. New Street Research upped their price target on Microsoft from $670.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $586.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $591.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average price 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 approximately $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft has a near-term product catalyst: a $99/month AI tools bundle (includes Copilot capabilities) with a May 1 launch that could drive commercial adoption and recurring ARR growth. Microsoft Is Racing to Beat Claude Cowork. A Big Catalyst for MSFT Stock Is Coming May 1.
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is expanding into healthcare AI with Copilot Health (can read medical records and provide personalized insights) and partner integrations, opening a large vertical market and cross‑sell opportunities for Azure and Copilot. Microsoft launched a new healthcare chatbot
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft 365 E7 bundles Copilot, Anthropic’s Claude Cowork and security tools — a premium enterprise offering that can lift average revenue per user for large customers. Analysts continue to highlight AI-driven revenue upside. Microsoft’s New E7 AI Suite And Healthcare Push Shape Long-Term Outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Xbox/product cycle news: Microsoft is advancing Project Helix (next‑gen Xbox) but prototypes won’t reach developers until 2027 — positive for long-term console moat but not an immediate revenue driver. Microsoft’s Next Xbox Moves Closer to Reality: What It Means for MSFT Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Gaming/graphics tech progress (DirectX/advanced shader delivery with NVIDIA/Intel) reduces frictions for PC gaming and helps Xbox/Windows gaming competitiveness but is a more gradual, longer-term tailwind. DirectX Gears Up For ML Era On Windows
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concern about huge AI data‑center capex and public pushback over electricity/costs is weighing on the stock; large lease and buildouts boost growth but increase near‑term cash burn. Who is really footing the AI energy bill? Inside the debate about data center electricity costs
• Negative Sentiment: Security scare: reports of a new vulnerability in Microsoft Authenticator have spooked investors and triggered selling pressure tied to identity/security risk. New Vulnerability in Microsoft Authenticator Sends Microsoft Stock Sliding
• Negative Sentiment: Leadership change: Rajesh Jha, a long‑time head of experiences and devices (Office/Copilot products), announced retirement — creates short‑term execution/transition uncertainty. Microsoft’s Rajesh Jha, head of experiences and devices unit, to retire
• Negative Sentiment: Options and flows show increased demand for downside protection (put-call skew steepening), reflecting trader caution after the pullback. Option traders moderately bearish in Microsoft with shareslittle changed

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).