Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Holdings Increased by Empirical Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Empirical Asset Management LLC raised its Microsoft stake by 364.9% in Q3 to 61,216 shares, making MSFT its second-largest holding at 4.8% of the portfolio and valued at about $31.707 million.
• Microsoft's enterprise AI push — including the Copilot Cowork rollout with Anthropic, a dual-model Azure strategy, and a new $99/user Microsoft 365 E7 Copilot bundle — is positioned to boost Azure consumption, accelerate Copilot adoption and raise ARPU.
• Potential headwinds include regulatory risk from Anthropic’s Pentagon dispute and sentiment pressure from insider selling (an EVP sold 12,321 shares) and rising short interest, which could amplify downside in news-driven sessions.

Empirical Asset Management LLC raised its position in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 364.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 61,216 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 48,049 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 4.8% of Empirical Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Empirical Asset Management LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $31,707,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 5.9% in the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 342 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $170,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. BLVD Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. BLVD Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,169 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,641,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA grew its stake in Microsoft by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 1,276 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $635,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Microsoft by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. now owns 6,509 shares of the software giant's stock worth $3,371,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ARK & TLK Investments LLC increased its holdings in Microsoft by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. ARK & TLK Investments LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,002,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Copilot Cowork (Anthropic’s Claude) rollout strengthens Microsoft’s enterprise AI roadmap and should drive Azure cloud consumption and seat-based revenue growth. Microsoft taps Anthropic for Copilot Cowork in push for AI agents
• Positive Sentiment: New E7 $99/user Microsoft 365 bundle (Copilot + enterprise agents) could accelerate Copilot adoption, raise ARPU and create stickier recurring revenue. Microsoft adds higher-priced Office tier with Copilot
• Positive Sentiment: Azure AI momentum and the company’s dual-model strategy (supporting both Anthropic and OpenAI models) sustain long-term cloud growth and give Microsoft optionality regardless of which models customers prefer. Microsoft Positioned to Win AI Race With Dual-Model Strategy
• Positive Sentiment: Board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.91 — provides income support and signals capital-return discipline. Microsoft announces quarterly dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft filed an amicus brief supporting Anthropic’s request to pause the Pentagon’s supply-chain designation — this preserves customer access to Claude (and Azure consumption) but keeps MSFT exposed to an evolving regulatory/geopolitical story. Microsoft files amicus brief in support of Anthropic's lawsuit with US DOD
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst commentary: some see the YTD pullback as a buying opportunity while others point to slower near-term Copilot enterprise rollouts — expect headline-driven intraday swings. Should You Buy Microsoft At $400?
• Negative Sentiment: Anthropic’s Pentagon dispute (supply‑chain designation and ensuing lawsuit) raises regulatory and policy risk that can spill into Microsoft given the partnership and federal contracting exposure. Anthropic sues to block Pentagon blacklisting
• Negative Sentiment: Sentiment pressure: an EVP disclosed a multi‑million dollar sale (12,321 shares) and short interest rose in February — both can amplify downside in a thin-volume, news-driven session. SEC Form 4 — Kathleen T. Hogan sale

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Microsoft from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, January 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $641.00 target price (down from $645.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 29th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on Microsoft from $632.00 to $659.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $590.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $591.95.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $405.76 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $555.45. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $432.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $478.00. 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 company has a market cap of $3.01 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.10.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. The company had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.23 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John W. Stanton acquired 5,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 83,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company 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).

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