Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust Lowers Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust decreased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 32.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,769 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,339 shares during the period. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,434,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. Leelyn Smith LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 32.3% in the third quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 28,333 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $14,675,000 after purchasing an additional 6,914 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Microsoft by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,506 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,816,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 42,196 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $21,855,000 after buying an additional 3,068 shares during the last quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Johnson Financial Group LLC now owns 5,817 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,013,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MSFT shares. Wolfe Research reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $625.00 to $530.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, February 6th. DZ Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 18th. Two equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $591.95.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $401.32 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $460.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $492.39. The stock has a market cap of $2.98 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.08. 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 Corporation has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.23 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.76%.

Trending Headlines about 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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 12,750 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 129,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,577,620.48. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of Microsoft 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 55,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,703,959.04. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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).