Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Stake Raised by Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda

Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda increased its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1,579.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 63,125 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 59,367 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up about 6.1% of Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $32,696,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,493,678,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the first quarter worth approximately $18,733,827,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 49,640.3% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $14,905,904,000 after buying an additional 29,906,791 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 705,077,786 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $350,712,742,000 after buying an additional 13,691,572 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $35,316,535,000 after acquiring an additional 11,600,470 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total transaction of $1,364,352.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 55,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,703,959.04. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MSFT. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $392.00 price objective (down from $540.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. HSBC lowered their price target on Microsoft from $667.00 to $588.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wolfe Research reduced their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $530.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Daiwa Securities Group lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $615.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $591.95.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BNP Paribas / Microsoft discussion suggests OpenAI’s updated spending plan still benefits cloud providers — Microsoft weighed in on OpenAI and Anthropic during a BNP sit-down, with analysts framing OpenAI’s revised spending as a net positive for Microsoft’s Azure and AI services. Microsoft weighs in on OpenAI, Anthropic, and AI spending during BNP sit-down
• Positive Sentiment: Options-market bullish signal may attract short-term buying — an ultra-rare bullish technical/options setup was flagged by traders, drawing attention to potential tactical inflows into MSFT options/stock. Microsoft Stock Just Flashed an Ultra-Rare Bullish Signal for Options Traders
• Positive Sentiment: Partnership with SpaceX’s Starlink expands connectivity and enterprise reach — new Starlink collaboration supports Microsoft’s global access and Orbital AI initiatives, a strategic move to extend Azure/AI services into underserved regions. Microsoft and SpaceX’s Starlink partner on global community internet effort
• Positive Sentiment: Anthropic partnerships ease fears that AI will displace software — Anthropic’s enterprise integrations (including plugins that work with Excel) have calmed some investor anxiety about AI eating traditional software revenue, indirectly supporting Microsoft’s ecosystem value. Anthropic eases software’s AI fears with enterprise partnerships
• Neutral Sentiment: Xbox leadership change ties gaming to AI strategy — Phil Spencer’s retirement and Asha Sharma’s promotion from CoreAI signal Microsoft will lean gaming further into AI, which may be strategic long‑term but is execution dependent. Microsoft Ties Xbox Leadership To AI Cloud And Security Ambitions
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/industry notes: Evercore highlights Microsoft’s free cash flow resilience amid hyperscaler capex — a soothing data point versus peers even as capex rises. Microsoft stands out as lone Mag 7 hyperscaler to increase FCF during AI capex splurge: Evercore
• Negative Sentiment: High AI capex and valuation concerns keep pressure on shares — analysts and stories (including a deep-dive on Microsoft’s multibillion capex plans) continue to raise questions about timing and returns on massive data-center spending. Microsoft’s $83.09 Billion Decision Could Shape What Happens Next
• Negative Sentiment: Technicals signal risk — coverage highlights MSFT’s selloff approaching a long‑term support crossroads (200‑week), which could intensify volatility if broken. Microsoft’s selloff is approaching a critical crossroads unseen in over 10 years
• Negative Sentiment: Public criticism from investors (Michael Burry) claims aggressive accounting to understate AI costs — such headlines can ratchet short-term selling and heighten regulatory/market scrutiny. Michael Burry Warns MSFT, GOOG, META Are Using ‘Sinister’ Accounting To Hide AI Costs, Inflate Profits By 20%

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $389.00 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $448.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $485.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market cap of $2.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.33, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.08. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. The company had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.23 earnings per share. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is presently 22.76%.

Microsoft Company 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).