Phoenix Financial Ltd. Has $374.09 Million Stock Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Phoenix Financial Ltd. lessened its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 722,848 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 19,945 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 4.9% of Phoenix Financial Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Phoenix Financial Ltd.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $374,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth $49,000. University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new position in Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth $50,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

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 shares were purchased at an average price of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 83,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total value of $6,266,880.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 129,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,577,620.48. The trade was a 8.97% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.3%

MSFT stock opened at $397.23 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $2.95 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.08. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $555.45. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $452.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $487.79.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The firm’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.23 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wedbush lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wolfe Research reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $530.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $575.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on Microsoft from $640.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $591.95.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi reiterated a Buy on Microsoft, highlighting continued Copilot adoption and strong Azure growth as reasons the company can outpace the recent sell-off. Microsoft in focus as Citi reiterates buy
• Positive Sentiment: Insider buying: director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares (~$2M), a behavioral vote of confidence that can help stabilize sentiment among retail/institutional investors. Microsoft Director John Stanton Buys 5,000 Shares
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s extended OpenAI revenue arrangement (locking a meaningful share of OpenAI output through 2032) is a multi-year revenue and strategic moat tailwind for AI monetization. As Microsoft extends 20% OpenAI deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft announced a large long-term commitment to expand AI access in the Global South (reported ~$50B), a growth opportunity that also implies heavy multi-year capex and execution risk. Microsoft to invest $50B in Global South AI push
• Neutral Sentiment: Partnerships and marketplace traction (e.g., CrowdStrike on Microsoft Marketplace) reinforce enterprise ecosystem stickiness but have limited immediate revenue impact. Falcon on Microsoft Marketplace
• Negative Sentiment: Leadership change in gaming: Phil Spencer’s immediate retirement and replacement by Asha Sharma introduces near-term uncertainty for Xbox strategy and investor confidence in the gaming unit. Microsoft gaming chief Phil Spencer retires
• Negative Sentiment: Stifel downgraded MSFT (Buy→Hold) and cut its price target, citing Azure supply constraints as a near-term growth headwind — a concrete analyst call that can pressure flows and justify further volatility. Stifel flags Azure supply constraints
• Negative Sentiment: Fresh AI quality/security reports (Copilot/Office bug and “AI recommendation poisoning” threats) raise short-term adoption and reputational risk that could delay enterprise deployments and weigh on sentiment. AI recommendation poisoning concerns

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).