Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Bought by Fred Alger Management LLC

Key Points

• Fred Alger Management LLC increased its Microsoft stake by 2.8% in Q3 to 4,709,800 shares, making Microsoft 9.5% of the firm's portfolio and its second-largest holding, valued at about $2.44 billion.
• Microsoft signed a letter of intent to receive 1.35GW of NVIDIA Vera Rubin NVL72 GPUs at Nscale’s new West Virginia “Monarch” AI campus, with Nscale planning up to 8GW of compute—expanding external AI capacity to support Azure and cloud/AI growth.
• Microsoft beat estimates last quarter with EPS $4.14 vs. $3.86 and revenue of $81.27 billion (up 16.7% YoY); the company has a market cap of $2.97 trillion and a P/E of 25.01.

Fred Alger Management LLC grew its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,709,800 shares of the software giant's stock after acquiring an additional 129,170 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 9.5% of Fred Alger Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Fred Alger Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Microsoft worth $2,439,441,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the third quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter worth about $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft signed a letter of intent to receive 1.35GW of NVIDIA Vera Rubin NVL72 GPU systems at Nscale’s new West Virginia “Monarch” AI campus — a clear signal Microsoft is securing large-scale external AI capacity to support customer demand and accelerate AI workloads. Nscale and Microsoft Announce Collaboration with NVIDIA and Caterpillar to Deliver 1.35GW of NVIDIA Vera Rubin NVL72 GPUs at Flagship AI Factory Campus in West Virginia
• Positive Sentiment: Nvidia-backed Nscale acquired a 2,250-acre campus and plans up to 8GW of compute there — the scale of this buildout increases available AI capacity in which Microsoft can be a customer/partner, easing short-term Azure capacity constraints and supporting long-term cloud/AI revenue growth. Nvidia-Backed Nscale Plans Huge Data Center Cluster in West Virginia
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary and analysts continue to call Microsoft a long-term AI winner and a potential buying opportunity amid the pullback — bullish analyst notes can support near-term buying interest and reduce downside from headline-driven volatility. Microsoft Stock NASDAQ: MSFT Tips Up With New Scam-Fighting Coalition Microsoft Is 'Long-Term Winner' In AI Arms Race—Sell-Off Is Buying 'Opportunity,' Says Don Nesbitt
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft joined or backed anti-scam initiatives — good for reputation and user trust but limited direct near-term earnings impact. Microsoft Stock NASDAQ: MSFT Tips Up With New Scam-Fighting Coalition
• Neutral Sentiment: Big-tech carbon credit purchases are rising as AI capacity expands; Microsoft is a leader — this signals higher ESG spending and potential margin/headline impacts, but it also mitigates regulatory/PR risks. Big Tech purchases of carbon credits explode amid AI race, with Microsoft leading the way
• Negative Sentiment: Industry article flags nearly $700B of off‑balance-sheet data center leases led by Microsoft/peers — a reminder that massive AI infrastructure commitments carry financial and execution risk if revenue growth lags. Data Center Leases: Is Spending Mindful Of Revenues?
• Negative Sentiment: Critical commentary and downgrade talk emphasize macro, competition and geopolitical/war-related risks to Microsoft’s outlook — such narratives can pressure sentiment and valuation multiples even if fundamentals remain strong. Microsoft: Macrohard, Competition, And War-Related Fears (Rating Downgrade)
• Negative Sentiment: High-profile investor selling (e.g., Peter Thiel’s fund trimming Microsoft) can fuel short-term negative headlines and investor nervousness despite differing long-term views. Palantir Billionaire Peter Thiel Sells 3 AI Stocks in a $74 Million Warning to Wall Street.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $399.95 on Tuesday. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. 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 $2.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.10. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $426.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $475.04.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $80.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.23 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MSFT. Daiwa Securities Group reduced their target price on Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a "hold" rating and set a $392.00 price target (down from $540.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $641.00 price target (down from $645.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $640.00 to $520.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $615.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $591.95.

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).

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