Avalon Trust Co Raises Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Avalon Trust Co. increased its Microsoft stake by 2.5% in the first quarter, purchasing 5,762 additional shares for a total of 236,541 shares valued at approximately $87.6 million. Microsoft now represents 6.0% of the fund’s portfolio.
• Microsoft reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with revenue of $90.01 billion and adjusted EPS of $4.74. Azure growth of 43% and continued AI demand supported investor optimism, sending shares up about 3%.
• Analysts maintain a broadly bullish outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $558.64, though investors face risks from elevated valuation, AI infrastructure costs, regulatory scrutiny, data-center constraints and recent insider selling.

Avalon Trust Co increased its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 236,541 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 5,762 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 6.0% of Avalon Trust Co's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Avalon Trust Co's holdings in Microsoft were worth $87,560,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 51.3% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 4.9% in the third quarter. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC now owns 431 shares of the software giant's stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Fischer Investment Strategies LLC now owns 697 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $337,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Pollock Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pollock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,805 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,453,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Better Money Decisions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% in the second quarter. Better Money Decisions LLC now owns 3,498 shares of the software giant's stock worth $1,740,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Azure growth exceeded expectations. Azure revenue increased 43% year over year, and annual Azure sales surpassed $100 billion for the first time. Management also guided to approximately 45% Azure growth in the next quarter, reinforcing confidence in Microsoft’s cloud and enterprise AI demand. Microsoft Shares Jump After Strong Outlook and Solid AI-Driven Growth
• Positive Sentiment: The earnings beat was substantial. Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $90.01 billion and adjusted EPS of $4.74, above analyst estimates of $87.62 billion and $4.24, respectively. Net income reportedly rose 31%, while revenue increased about 18% year over year. Microsoft Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates as Cloud and AI Drive Results
• Positive Sentiment: AI monetization and financial discipline eased investor concerns. Microsoft 365 Copilot surpassed 30 million paid seats, its commercial remaining performance obligation reached $678 billion—up 84% year over year—and management held its capital-expenditure outlook broadly steady while emphasizing continued cash generation. Investors viewed this as a better balance between infrastructure investment and returns than some peers have demonstrated. Microsoft Eases AI Spending Concerns
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts largely reaffirmed bullish views, with several price-target increases, although estimates remain wide. Microsoft’s stock is now trading well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages after a historic rally, raising the possibility of increased volatility or profit-taking.
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft continues to face risks from data-center power constraints, chip costs, regulatory scrutiny and the enormous scale of AI investment. A reported cloud-security flaw that could have exposed customers adds another operational concern. Cyber Firm Wiz Reports Microsoft Cloud Flaw
• Negative Sentiment: Several law firms publicized a securities class-action lawsuit concerning investors who purchased Microsoft shares between May 1, 2025, and January 28, 2026, with an August 11 lead-plaintiff deadline. Such announcements may create reputational and legal overhang, although they have not offset the earnings-driven optimism. Microsoft Securities Class Action Deadline

Microsoft Trading Up 3.0%

Microsoft stock opened at $464.72 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $397.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $405.96. The stock has a market cap of $3.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.23. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $349.20 and a one year high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.65 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 15,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.99, for a total value of $7,145,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 110,477 shares in the company, valued at $50,928,792.23. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.84, for a total transaction of $1,812,780.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 47,468 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,122,009.12. The trade was a 8.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MSFT shares. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $510.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. Argus reduced their price target on Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th. New Street Research decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $640.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $640.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $558.64.

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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