Lee Financial Co Increases Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Lee Financial Co boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,342 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,381 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for 1.2% of Lee Financial Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Lee Financial Co’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $9,500,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew 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 worth $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, University of Illinois Foundation bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $660.00 to $635.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $640.00 to $620.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $450.00 price target on Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $591.95.

Microsoft Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $392.74 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $344.79 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $443.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $483.82. 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 firm has a market cap of $2.92 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.08.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In related news, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total value of $1,364,352.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 55,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,703,959.04. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at BNP and others say OpenAI’s large new funding round should still benefit Microsoft because of its deep Azure and infrastructure ties — a reminder that MSFT remains a key AI partner and infrastructure provider. OpenAI’s massive funding round should benefit Microsoft, Oracle: BNP
• Positive Sentiment: An insider (director Stanton John) bought roughly $2M of MSFT stock, signalling confidence from management-level insiders during the pullback. Director Stanton John Just Bought $2 Million of Microsoft Stock
• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat / Altimetry note that Microsoft is “at the center of AI” with high switching costs and under-appreciated fundamentals — an argument that current valuation weakness is sentiment-driven and could reverse. AI Is Separating Software Winners From Losers, 2 Experts Explain
• Positive Sentiment: Dynamics 365 business applications continue to post solid mid-teens to high‑teens growth and are cited as a consistent driver of Productivity & Business Processes revenue — a durable growth stream beyond Azure. Can Microsoft Stock Rally on Dynamics 365 Business Applications?
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft announced its next quarterly dividend payable March 13 — a steady income signal but unlikely to move the stock materially amid the current narrative-driven trading. Microsoft to pay dividends on March 13; Here’s how much 100 MSFT shares will earn
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction to OpenAI’s announcement cut both ways: Microsoft wasn’t named among some of the latest funding/partner headlines, prompting investor worry about its standing with OpenAI and driving selling pressure. What’s Behind The Drop In Microsoft Stock?
• Negative Sentiment: Japan’s authorities carried out a raid tied to suspected antitrust issues around Microsoft’s cloud business, raising regulatory risk in a major market. Microsoft Japan raided over suspected violation of anti-monopoly law, source says
• Negative Sentiment: Operational/real‑estate headwinds: reports of data center/building delays and related execution noise have been cited as a near-term drag on sentiment. “On Hold Until Further Notice”: Microsoft Stock Slumps With Building Delay
• Negative Sentiment: Broader AI-capex and semiconductor market jitters (Nvidia-centric weakness) are depressing the megacap tech complex; investors are weighing heavy industry capex against margins and balance-sheet strain. That macro pressure is spilling over to Microsoft. Nvidia Fails to Reassure—Heard on the Street

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).