Forte Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Forte Asset Management LLC raised its Microsoft stake by 91.9% in Q4 to 23,518 shares (about 5.2% of its holdings), valued at $11.374 million, making MSFT its largest holding.
• Microsoft gained near‑term capacity after taking spare Norway data‑center space originally intended for OpenAI, giving it access to tens of thousands of Nvidia GPUs and helping spark a short‑term stock rally and elevated trading activity.
• Wall Street is broadly constructive with a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" and a $579.82 price target, but some firms have trimmed targets and Microsoft faces near‑term capex and margin scrutiny despite a recent earnings beat and a $0.91 quarterly dividend.

Forte Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 91.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,518 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 11,264 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for approximately 5.2% of Forte Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Forte Asset Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $11,374,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 51.3% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation bought a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft agreed to take up spare capacity at a Norway data center originally intended for OpenAI, giving it access to tens of thousands of Nvidia GPUs and immediately boosting its AI compute footprint — a direct, near-term capacity win for Azure and Copilot workloads. OpenAI pulls back from Stargate Norway data center deal as Microsoft takes over
• Positive Sentiment: Technical and sentiment momentum: Microsoft just logged its best three-session performance since April 2023, reflecting a short-term rotation back into beaten-down mega-cap AI names and traders reacting to the compute/capacity news. Microsoft's stock has sprung back to life: It's on its strongest run in 3 years, by one measure
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and industry bullishness: a number of commentaries and upgrades argue Microsoft’s pullback is overdone given its cloud backlog and Copilot monetization potential — supporting a view that further upside is possible if execution continues. Microsoft Stock Got Punished by AI Fears. The Market's Been Too Harsh.
• Neutral Sentiment: Massive AI capex and data‑center expansion remain a double‑edged sword: Microsoft is accelerating build‑out (including a new 3,200‑acre Wyoming site) and guiding very large capital spending — this supports long‑term growth but keeps near‑term capex scrutiny and margin pressure in play. Microsoft's AI Data Center Push: Growth Engine or Capex Trap?
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusually large options volume has been reported, indicating heightened trader activity and positioning around the name — this amplifies moves but can increase short‑term volatility. Microsoft Sees Unusually Large Options Volume NASDAQ: MSFT
• Negative Sentiment: Price‑target trims and valuation questions persist: several firms have reduced targets amid the post‑peak re‑rating, keeping upside under review and maintaining downside risk if growth or margin inflection points slip. Mizuho Trims Microsoft Price Target to $515: How Much Upside Is Left in This AI Titan?
• Negative Sentiment: Partnership and competitive risk: mixed signals from AI partners (OpenAI internal comments and Anthropic activity) highlight dependency and competitive uncertainty around who controls model distribution and which clouds customers choose — a potential long‑term strategic headwind. OpenAI Says Microsoft 'Limited' Its Reach, Slams Anthropic For 'Inflated $30B Revenue

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, March 9th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $600.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $660.00 to $635.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $586.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Microsoft from $620.00 to $515.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $579.82.

Microsoft Stock Up 4.6%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $411.22 on Thursday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $390.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $455.36. The company has a market cap of $3.05 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $355.67 and a 12-month high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.23 EPS. On average, research analysts expect 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 given 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%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the company'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 owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at $56,486,322.16. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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).

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