Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT – Free Report) by 0.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 306,265 shares of the software giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,348 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up about 2.0% of Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $113,370,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 56,160.8% in the fourth 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 during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft in the first quarter valued at approximately $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew 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 valued at $30,840,432,000 after purchasing an additional 49,618,571 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Microsoft by 49,640.3% during 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 buying an additional 29,906,791 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
More Microsoft News
Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s Azure business reportedly surpassed $100 billion in annual revenue, reinforcing confidence that AI demand is translating into substantial cloud growth. The company’s strong recent earnings, rising Microsoft 365 seat count and increasing adoption of premium E7 and Copilot offerings provide additional long-term growth support. Azure revenue article Microsoft 365 seats article
- Positive Sentiment: William Blair reaffirmed a Buy rating, citing early AI monetization and a constructive long-term risk-reward profile. Other coverage highlighted Microsoft’s ability to generate cash while investing heavily in AI infrastructure, distinguishing it from some competitors. Microsoft Buy rating article
- Positive Sentiment: Microsoft is developing its Maia 300 AI accelerator, potentially reducing dependence on Nvidia processors and improving supply flexibility and infrastructure economics over time. Maia 300 chip article
- Neutral Sentiment: A partnership with Plug Power tested hydrogen fuel-cell backup power for Microsoft data centers. The trial could support data-center resilience, but Plug’s CEO said it does not represent a strategic pivot or an immediate material change for Microsoft. Plug Power and Microsoft article
- Negative Sentiment: A Guardian investigation raised questions about a possible shortfall in advanced AI chips installed across Microsoft’s facilities relative to its stated data-center expansion plans. Reports cited a potential gap of roughly 2.2 million chips, fueling concerns about deployment timing, capacity and near-term AI revenue growth. Microsoft chip capacity article
- Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley warned that heavy AI capital expenditure and rising debt-related obligations could pressure hyperscaler credit quality. Although Microsoft has a strong balance sheet, the warning increases scrutiny of whether massive infrastructure spending will generate adequate returns. Morgan Stanley hyperscaler warning
Microsoft Stock Down 3.0%
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.65 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Microsoft Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.27%.
Insider Activity at Microsoft
In related news, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total transaction of $4,878,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 100,447 shares in the company, valued at $49,007,086.83. This trade represents a 9.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 37,310 shares of company stock valued at $17,256,219 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research firms have issued reports on MSFT. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, May 4th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Evercore set a $528.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $560.27.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on Microsoft
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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