Forbes J M & Co. LLP Has $58.14 Million Holdings in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Forbes J M & Co. LLP reduced its Microsoft stake by 0.8% in the second quarter, selling 1,215 shares and retaining 155,852 shares valued at approximately $58.14 million. Microsoft represents 4.6% of the firm’s portfolio.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 71.13%, while analysts maintain a favorable outlook: 42 rate Microsoft a Buy and five rate it a Hold, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $564.27.
• Microsoft reported quarterly revenue of $90.01 billion and EPS of $4.74, exceeding estimates, with revenue up 17.7% year over year. Shares opened at $495.63, near their 52-week high of $553.72, as investors weigh strong AI and Azure demand against the costs and execution risks of expanding data-center capacity.

Forbes J M & Co. LLP lessened its stake in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 0.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 155,852 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 1,215 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 4.6% of Forbes J M & Co. LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Forbes J M & Co. LLP's holdings in Microsoft were worth $58,136,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Microsoft in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 56,160.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 60,009,531 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 1st quarter valued at $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 500.0% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 49,618,571 shares during the period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 29,906,791 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $502.00 to $522.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. CLSA restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Argus lowered 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Microsoft from $450.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $515.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $564.27.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

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.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $495.63 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $455.85 and its 200 day moving average is $419.16. The stock has a market cap of $3.68 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $349.20 and a 1-year high of $553.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

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

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares in the company, valued at approximately $244,092,173.98. This represents a 15.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 101,335 shares of company stock worth $50,655,795. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microsoft Company Profile

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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