Advocate Group LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Advocate Group LLC increased its Microsoft stake by 10.2% in the second quarter, adding 2,205 shares to hold 23,926 shares valued at approximately $8.9 million. Institutional investors own 71.13% of Microsoft’s stock.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with revenue up 17.7% year over year to $90.01 billion and earnings of $4.74 per share, exceeding analyst expectations. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $564.27.
• The company’s AI and Azure expansion remains a major growth opportunity, but its planned data-center buildout carries significant capital, power, execution and return-on-investment risks. Microsoft shares opened at $495.63, near their 52-week high.

Advocate Group LLC raised its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 10.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,926 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 2,205 shares during the period. Advocate Group LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,925,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter valued at $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 56,160.8% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,073,486,000 after acquiring an additional 60,009,531 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the 1st quarter valued at about $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 500.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant's stock worth $30,840,432,000 after acquiring an additional 49,618,571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 49,640.3% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant's stock worth $14,905,904,000 after purchasing an additional 29,906,791 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft reportedly plans to more than triple global data-center capacity to approximately 38 gigawatts by 2032. The expansion is intended to address server shortages that have forced Microsoft to turn away some AI and cloud customers, potentially allowing the company to capture more Azure demand and prevent business from shifting to rivals. Microsoft plans 38 gigawatts of data center capacity by 2032
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive on Microsoft’s AI and cloud growth. Recent commentary cites Azure revenue growth of 43%, expectations for further acceleration, and approximately 30 million paid Copilot seats—supporting the view that AI products are becoming meaningful enterprise businesses. Microsoft: Big Tech Winner Still On Sale
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street price targets are moving higher, with a Yahoo Finance analyst survey cited at $572.92. Microsoft is also expanding Azure’s commercial ecosystem through partnerships such as Talkdesk’s Azure Marketplace integration, which could increase cloud consumption and simplify enterprise adoption. Microsoft Price Targets Are Rising
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is reorganizing its reporting structure and plans to disclose quarterly Azure revenue beginning in fiscal 2027. Greater transparency may help investors assess cloud performance, but the reporting change itself does not alter fundamentals. Microsoft’s Azure Reporting Shift Adds Clarity
• Neutral Sentiment: Longtime communications chief Frank Shaw is leaving after nearly three decades, a senior leadership transition that may attract attention but is not currently tied to a change in strategy. Frank Shaw leaving Microsoft
• Negative Sentiment: The data-center buildout will require very large capital expenditures, raising concerns about power availability, construction costs, free cash flow and returns on investment. The company’s recent capacity constraints also highlight execution risk. Microsoft’s AI Crunch Forced It to Turn Away Business
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also weighing competition from Alphabet and other cloud providers, alongside security and productivity risks from bring-your-own-device users and concerns that Microsoft’s valuation already reflects substantial AI growth.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $515.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $575.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their target price on Microsoft from $680.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $564.27.

Insider Activity

In other Microsoft news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. This represents a 9.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. The trade was a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 101,335 shares of company stock valued at $50,655,795 in the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $495.63 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $455.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $419.16. Microsoft Corporation has a 52-week low of $349.20 and a 52-week high of $553.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company has a market cap of $3.68 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.11.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.65 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital solutions for consumers, businesses and public-sector organizations. Its products and services include the Windows operating system, Microsoft 365 productivity applications, Teams collaboration software, Dynamics business applications and Azure cloud computing services.

The company also operates LinkedIn, GitHub and Xbox, which includes gaming consoles, video games and related online services.

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