10 Best US Stocks to Buy For Foreign Investors

2. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 317

Average Upside Potential as of March 30: 35.10%

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is one of the biggest names in tech, and as of March 30, analysts see a 35% average upside potential for the shares. This makes MSFT one of the best American stocks to buy. On March 6, investment advisory Stifel assigned a Buy rating to Microsoft but slashed the price target to $475 from $515. The firm observed that Microsoft Azure’s genAI revenue showed a remarkable growth of 157% in December. Most business segments of the company were also performing well. However, analysts lowered the price target because investors were highly focused on CapEx, and they believe that the stock may not thrive until Azure and Commercial Cloud growth outperforms CapEx spending.

For the quarter ending December 31, 2024, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s revenue stood at $69.6 billion, up 12% on a year-over-year basis. The quarterly net income rose 10% from the prior-year quarter to $24.1 billion, as did diluted earnings per share, which came in at $3.23. Microsoft gave back $9.7 billion to shareholders in terms of dividends and share repurchases during Q2 of fiscal year 2025.

On March 11, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) declared a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share. The dividend is payable on June 12, to shareholders on record as of May 15.

According to Insider Monkey’s fourth-quarter database, 317 hedge funds reported owning long positions in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), up from 279 stocks in the last quarter. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust is the company’s leading stakeholder, with 28.45 million shares valued at nearly $12 billion.