Stevens Capital Management LP Purchases 21,906 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Stevens Capital Management LP increased its Microsoft stake by 288.7%, buying 21,906 shares to hold 29,494 shares valued at about $15.28 million, which represents roughly 2.0% of its portfolio and is its 14th-largest holding.
• Microsoft beat quarterly estimates with $4.14 EPS vs. $3.86 expected and $81.27 billion in revenue (up 16.7% year-over-year), and the company has a market cap near $3.04 trillion and a P/E of about 25.6.
• Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares at ~$397.35 and institutional ownership stands at 71.13%, while analysts maintain a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $591.95.

Stevens Capital Management LP grew its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 288.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,494 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 21,906 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 2.0% of Stevens Capital Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Stevens Capital Management LP's holdings in Microsoft were worth $15,276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 51.3% during the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth $50,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $408.96 on Monday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $435.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $479.38. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.58, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on 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 acquisition, the director directly owned 83,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on MSFT. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $600.00 target price (down from $650.00) on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays restated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $640.00 to $520.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Two equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $591.95.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Long-term bullish case: analysts and commentators highlight Microsoft’s big AI pivot (Copilot, Azure) as a multi-year growth driver that could reshape revenue and margins, supporting the stock’s recovery thesis. Where Will Microsoft Stock Be in 5 Years After This AI Pivot?
• Positive Sentiment: Relative strength among mega-cap peers: recent coverage notes Microsoft rebounded while other Magnificent Seven names stumbled, signaling it can still attract safe-haven flows within large-cap tech rotations. Magnificent 7 News: Microsoft Rebounds While Apple and Alphabet Fall This Week
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory/market noise around AI supply: cloud providers (including Microsoft) say Anthropic products remain available despite a Pentagon blacklist — limits near-term disruption but keeps compliance risk on the radar. Microsoft, Google, Amazon say Anthropic products still available despite Pentagon blacklist
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional positioning shift: Tiger Global’s Chase Coleman no longer lists Microsoft as his top holding for the first time in 13 quarters — signals rotation among mega-caps that can sap near-term demand even if fundamentals remain intact. For the First Time in 13 Quarters, Billionaire Chase Coleman's No. 1 Holding Isn't Meta Platforms or Microsoft -- but It Is a "Magnificent" Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Product/strategy execution concerns: coverage questioning whether Microsoft is worth buying after a ~25% pullback cites modest Copilot enterprise adoption and worries over the composition of Azure’s large order backlog — these raise near-term growth and visibility concerns. Should You Buy Microsoft Stock After Its 25% Correction, or Run for the Hills?
• Negative Sentiment: Investor disappointment from hardware/consumer reveals: Microsoft’s Project Helix Xbox reveal failed to impress some investors, hurting sentiment around discretionary growth initiatives vs. costly AI investments. Microsoft (MSFT) Fails to Impress Investors with Its Project Helix Xbox Reveal
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/safety risk around generative AI: a new lawsuit alleges inadequate safety in GPT-4o with severe harm claims — potential reputational, regulatory and financial risk if the case expands or triggers stricter oversight. Lawsuit Challenges Microsoft AI Safety As Investors Weigh Long Term Impact

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).

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.