Gruss & Co. LLC Buys 3,000 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Gruss & Co. LLC doubled its stake in Microsoft during Q3, adding 3,000 shares to hold 6,000 shares worth about $3.11 million, making MSFT 8.1% of the firm's holdings and its second-largest position.
• Institutional investors own roughly 71.13% of Microsoft, with Vanguard, State Street, Geode and Northern Trust notably increasing positions, and the stock supported by a recent earnings beat and strong AI/cloud demand.
• Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares at about $397.35, while analysts maintain a consensus Moderate Buy rating with an average price target near $591.95 after Microsoft reported better-than-expected EPS and 16.7% revenue growth.

Gruss & Co. LLC raised its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,000 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 8.1% of Gruss & Co. LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Gruss & Co. LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,108,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 705,077,786 shares of the software giant's stock worth $350,712,742,000 after buying an additional 13,691,572 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 299,196,519 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $148,823,341,000 after acquiring an additional 3,166,275 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 2.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 179,001,751 shares of the software giant's stock worth $88,714,256,000 after acquiring an additional 3,532,054 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth about $50,493,678,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $35,316,535,000 after purchasing an additional 11,600,470 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Large AI spending and the semiconductor rally underpin demand for Microsoft’s cloud and AI infrastructure — investors see the $650B+ AI buildout as a tailwind for Azure and AI services. The $650 Billion AI Surge Is Here—2 Semiconductor ETFs to Play It
• Positive Sentiment: New customer/partner wins: Microsoft signed an MoU with Codelco to explore AI, analytics and automation for mining — a concrete enterprise adoption signal. Codelco, Microsoft sign AI deal for mining operations
• Positive Sentiment: Security and ecosystem momentum: Microsoft helped dismantle the Tycoon 2FA phishing operation and sees partners joining its security programs (Blue Cycle joining MISA), reinforcing its security leadership and partner distribution. Coinbase, Microsoft and Europol take down phishing service ‘Tycoon 2FA’ Blue Cycle LLC joins Microsoft Intelligent Security Association (MISA)
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical/sector rotation: commentary suggests a “right‑tail” rotation back into oversold software/AI names, which may amplify short‑term strength in MSFT even as fundamentals are sorted. Right Tail Rotation Still Working
• Neutral Sentiment: Cybersecurity peer strength (Okta beat) highlights demand for identity/security services — good for sector sentiment but also underscores competition in identity and AI agent governance. Okta Earnings Beat, But Growth Questions Remain
• Negative Sentiment: OpenAI moves and funding raise strategic questions: reports that OpenAI is developing alternatives to Microsoft‑owned developer tools (e.g., GitHub) and the big outside funding round complicate the partnership narrative and could weaken Microsoft’s exclusivity benefits. OpenAI is developing alternative to Microsoft's GitHub
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and execution concerns persist: recent downgrades, commentary about a sizable YTD pullback and articles asking if the pullback is a buy signal show investors are split between long‑term AI conviction and short‑term margin/capex worries. Down 15% in 2026, Should You Buy the Dip in Microsoft Stock? Melius Research and Stifel Downgrade Microsoft to Hold
• Negative Sentiment: Operational/reputation noise: reports of widespread Outlook email blocking attracted criticism and could pose short‑term customer friction or regulatory scrutiny. Microsoft Draws Internet Ire Over Wave of Email Blocking

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $410.68 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $436.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $480.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week 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.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The company had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $80.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.23 EPS. Microsoft's revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Melius Research set a $430.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Microsoft from $630.00 to $615.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen cut Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, January 18th. Phillip Securities upgraded Microsoft from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $591.95.

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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