Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Position Lifted by Silphium Asset Management Ltd

Silphium Asset Management Ltd lifted its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 39.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,558 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,720 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises about 3.6% of Silphium Asset Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Silphium Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $12,202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new position in Microsoft in the second quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microsoft Trading Up 1.3%

MSFT opened at $403.93 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $440.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $481.55. 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 Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.00 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.26, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. The company had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.23 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 55,782 shares in the company, valued at $26,703,959.04. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Huge, ongoing AI investments from Microsoft and peers underscore the company’s commitment to AI leadership and justify premium multiples for Azure and Copilot-related revenue growth. Microsoft and Alphabet Spend Billions On AI: A Closer Look
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s push into new data-center capacity (Michigan initiative) strengthens its ability to host AI workloads, reducing supply constraints and supporting future Azure/AI revenue. Microsoft Stock (NASDAQ:MSFT) Gains With New Charm Offensive for Data Centers in Michigan
• Positive Sentiment: RBC reaffirmed an “outperform” rating, providing an analyst-level vote of confidence that can support buying interest after recent weakness. RBC Outperform Affirmed
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity and technical positioning show elevated trader interest and volatility—this can amplify moves but isn’t a clear directional catalyst on its own. Microsoft Stock Testing 2 Key Levels as Options Traders Pounce
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street pieces and commentators list MSFT among top large-cap AI/infra names to own—supportive long-term thesis but not an immediate catalyst. 2 Trillion-Dollar Stocks That Could Soar by 40% and 50%
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/video commentary highlights short-term SaaS volatility but sees Microsoft among rebound candidates—useful for traders, less so for long-term investors. SaaS-pocalypse Opportunities in MSFT, AMZN, PLTR, NOW & Others
• Negative Sentiment: OpenAI is reportedly building a code-repository to rival GitHub, which could erode a strategic Microsoft asset and developer ecosystem advantage if it gains traction. OpenAI is developing alternative to Microsoft’s GitHub
• Negative Sentiment: Ongoing “Microslop”/Copilot Discord controversy and criticism that MSFT is underperforming YTD weigh on sentiment and could pressure multiples if developer trust or user adoption is impacted. ‘It’s Performing Worse,’ Says Investor About Microsoft Stock

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MSFT shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 18th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Microsoft from $625.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Microsoft from $660.00 to $635.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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).