SG Americas Securities LLC Grows Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2,332.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,746,017 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,468,645 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 4.2% of SG Americas Securities LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,262,509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IRON Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 23.2% during the third quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 6,510 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,372,000 after acquiring an additional 1,225 shares during the period. Wellington Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,941,000. PMG Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $828,000. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 94,120 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $46,816,000 after purchasing an additional 2,373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 70,175 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $36,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,572 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research reduced their target price on Microsoft from $625.00 to $530.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Microsoft from $625.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Microsoft from $650.00 to $600.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $588.97.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Some Wall Street analysts still see large upside for MSFT, arguing the pullback may be overdone and presenting a buying opportunity for long‑term investors. Wall Street Says Microsoft Stock Has 89% Rebound Potential
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamental revenue drivers remain: LinkedIn ad growth and marketing solutions are cited as near‑term revenue positives that help offset AI spending concerns. Microsoft Benefits From LinkedIn Ad Growth: More Upside Ahead?
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft has implemented targeted hiring freezes in major cloud and North American sales groups while keeping AI and engineering hiring active — a cost‑management move that highlights prioritization of AI infrastructure but leaves uncertainty over near‑term sales execution. Microsoft freezes hiring in major cloud, sales groups, The Information reports
• Neutral Sentiment: Infrastructure expansion continues: third‑party partner Crusoe announced a 900 MW AI campus in Abilene, Texas to support large‑scale workloads for Microsoft — this reinforces demand for hyperscale capacity even as investors debate ROI timing. Crusoe Announces New 900 MW AI Factory Campus in Abilene, Texas to Support Microsoft AI Infrastructure
• Negative Sentiment: Market narrative has flipped: analysts and commentary say Microsoft is “losing the AI narrative,” and technical indicators show the stock at decade‑low oversold levels — fueling momentum selling. Microsoft’s stock hasn’t been this oversold in a decade, with the tech giant ‘really losing the AI narrative’
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy AI capex and execution concerns: multiple reports highlight Microsoft’s very large AI spending (reports cite ~$30B per quarter-level scale), slowing Copilot adoption vs. expectations, and the stock is on track for its worst quarter since 2008 — pressuring valuations and near‑term sentiment. Microsoft Is Down 24% This Year While Spending $30B a Quarter on AI
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive and strategic risks are rising: OpenAI and other AI firms (including reports of Anthropic eyeing an IPO) are evolving relationships and competition that could reduce Microsoft’s exclusive leverage in parts of the AI stack. Anthropic eyes IPO, Microsoft stock set for worst quarter since 2008

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $356.77 on Monday. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market capitalization of $2.65 trillion, a PE ratio of 22.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $409.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $467.20.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.28. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The business had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.23 earnings per share. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.76%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of the 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 purchase, the director owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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).