Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG Has $457.12 Million Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in Microsoft Corporation by 3.8% in Q2, now holding 922,524 shares valued at approximately $457.12 million, making it Microsoft's largest shareholder.
• Microsoft recently declared a quarterly dividend increase from $0.83 to $0.91, to be paid on December 11th, representing an annualized yield of 0.7%.
• Equity analysts have been optimistic, with multiple firms raising their target prices for Microsoft shares, some reaching as high as $639.00, reflecting a strong consensus of "Moderate Buy".

Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 3.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 922,524 shares of the software giant's stock after purchasing an additional 33,382 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises approximately 9.8% of Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG's holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG's holdings in Microsoft were worth $457,119,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Morangie Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 16.8% in the second quarter. Morangie Management LLC now owns 7,742 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $3,851,000 after buying an additional 1,112 shares during the period. MBE Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. MBE Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,108 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,546,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Cadent Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Cadent Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,930 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,954,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Kingsman Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Microsoft by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Kingsman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 13,056 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $6,494,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. Finally, Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Microsoft by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 13,826 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $6,877,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 149,205 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $504.78, for a total transaction of $75,315,699.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 790,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $399,206,272.56. The trade was a 15.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total value of $2,557,502.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,111 shares in the company, valued at $20,624,012.52. The trade was a 11.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

MSFT stock opened at $522.40 on Friday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12-month low of $344.79 and a 12-month high of $555.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.30, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.03. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $513.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $470.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.35 by $0.30. Microsoft had a net margin of 36.15% and a return on equity of 32.44%. The firm had revenue of $76.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.95 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. Microsoft has set its Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be given a $0.91 dividend. This is a boost from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 24.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $605.00 to $613.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $581.00 to $639.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-one have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $618.47.

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation develops and supports software, services, devices and solutions worldwide. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers office, exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft viva, and Microsoft 365 copilot; and office consumer services, such as Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions, Office licensed on-premises, and other office services.

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