Accredited Investors Inc. Purchases 3,068 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,196 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,068 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 1.2% of Accredited Investors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Accredited Investors Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $21,855,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,493,678,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Microsoft during the first quarter valued at $18,733,827,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 49,640.3% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $14,905,904,000 after acquiring an additional 29,906,791 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 705,077,786 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $350,712,742,000 after acquiring an additional 13,691,572 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $35,316,535,000 after acquiring an additional 11,600,470 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major private-market validation for the AI ecosystem could benefit Microsoft as a cloud and AI infrastructure provider — Anthropic’s new $380B valuation (which includes investments tied to Microsoft) signals strong enterprise demand for AI models and likely more backend cloud consumption. Anthropic Valuation Hits $380 Billion as Enterprise AI Demand Explodes
• Positive Sentiment: Citi reaffirmed a Buy on MSFT with a $635 price target — a bullish institutional view that supports the long‑term AI/cloud thesis despite recent sentiment-driven weakness. Microsoft: Buy Rating Reaffirmed on Undervalued AI and Cloud Growth Drivers Despite Sentiment-Driven Sell-Off
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is leading industry efforts on “digital trust” with other large tech firms (Trusted Tech Alliance), a reputational win that may ease enterprise sales cycles for security‑sensitive customers. Microsoft, Ericsson lead global tech alliance for digital trust
• Positive Sentiment: R&D/infra innovation: reports that Microsoft is exploring superconducting power lines for AI data centers point to potential long‑term efficiency gains and differentiation for its hyperscale buildout. Microsoft Explores Superconducting Power to Boost AI Data Centers
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft AI chief’s bold timeline for rapid white‑collar automation (12–18 months) fuels debate — it underscores market opportunity but also raises labor/regulatory concerns that could shape adoption rates. Microsoft AI chief gives it 18 months — for all white-collar work to be automated by AI
• Neutral Sentiment: Market technicians and contrarian pieces argue MSFT looks oversold/potentially bottoming after the post‑earnings drop — these narratives can attract buyers, but timing is uncertain. Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) Price Forecast: Bottoming at Channel Support?
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk increased today: the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has issued investigative demands and questioned Microsoft’s rivals about its AI/cloud licensing and business practices — this escalation is a clear near‑term negative catalyst. US FTC ramps up scrutiny of Microsoft over AI, cloud practices, questions rivals, Bloomberg reports
• Negative Sentiment: Investor rotation and positioning: several funds disclosed cuts to MSFT stakes this week, and commentary highlights investor concern over heavy CapEx for AI infrastructure and concentration risk tied to OpenAI—factors that have pressured the stock. PRIMECAP Management Co cuts Microsoft stake by 1.1M
• Negative Sentiment: Critics argue Microsoft has underperformed some AI peers and that capex intensity may strain free cash flow, reinforcing sentiment‑driven selling pressure. Microsoft Is Spending, Investors Are Losing

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $401.32 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.98 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.10, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.08. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $344.79 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $460.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $492.39.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $81.27 billion during 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%.Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.23 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.76%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 55,782 shares in the company, valued at $26,703,959.04. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.52, for a total value of $6,266,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 129,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,577,620.48. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Daiwa Securities Group dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Wedbush dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $641.00 price target (down previously from $645.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $600.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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).