Microsoft Corporation $MSFT Shares Sold by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management Holding SA reduced its stake in Microsoft Corporation by 1.3%, now holding approximately 6,192,420 shares, which represents 2.6% of its investment portfolio.
• Microsoft's recent quarterly earnings report showed $3.65 EPS, surpassing analyst estimates of $3.35, along with a revenue of $76.44 billion, marking an 18.1% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 0.7% and a payout ratio of 24.34%.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lowered its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,192,420 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 78,720 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for about 2.6% of Pictet Asset Management Holding SA's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.08% of Microsoft worth $2,324,725,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Newton One Investments LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. Newton One Investments LLC now owns 75 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.6%

NASDAQ:MSFT traded down $2.95 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $506.69. 20,949,937 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,697,436. Microsoft Corporation has a one year low of $344.79 and a one year high of $555.45. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $508.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $447.59. The company has a market cap of $3.77 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.15, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 24.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSFT has been the topic of several research reports. Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $580.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Microsoft from $581.00 to $639.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Microsoft from $530.00 to $582.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Westpark Capital reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $612.54.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,850 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $527.32, for a total transaction of $2,557,502.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,624,012.52. This represents a 11.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

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.