Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Bought by Louisbourg Investments Inc.

Louisbourg Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,247 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 1,585 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 3.0% of Louisbourg Investments Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Louisbourg Investments Inc.'s holdings in Microsoft were worth $16,079,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 691,386,214 shares of the software giant's stock worth $259,539,471,000 after buying an additional 7,314,509 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 299,196,519 shares of the software giant's stock worth $148,823,341,000 after buying an additional 3,166,275 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 179,001,751 shares of the software giant's stock worth $88,714,256,000 after buying an additional 3,532,054 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth about $50,493,678,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position 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 buying an additional 11,600,470 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the sale, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the director owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Key Stories 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

Microsoft Trading Up 4.6%

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $411.22 on Thursday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $355.67 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The stock has a market cap of $3.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.72, a P/E/G 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. The business's 50 day moving average is $390.90 and its 200-day moving average is $455.36.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $80.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.23 EPS. The business's revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MSFT. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, March 9th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $625.00 to $575.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, March 9th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Two 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $579.82.

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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