Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Has $2.48 Billion Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management Holding SA cut its Microsoft stake by 9.3% in the first quarter, but still held 6.69 million shares valued at about $2.48 billion. Microsoft remains its second-largest holding and makes up 2.6% of the portfolio.
• Microsoft is drawing attention for its AI push, including the launch of Microsoft Frontier Company with a $2.5 billion commitment to help enterprises adopt AI tools. The company is also working to improve Copilot and expand cloud and AI adoption across customers.
• Despite strong long-term fundamentals and positive analyst coverage, Microsoft faces near-term pressure from a weak stock performance, securities litigation, and concerns that heavy AI spending may not generate quick returns. Analysts still broadly rate the stock a Moderate Buy.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA trimmed its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 9.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,689,245 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 688,727 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 2.6% of Pictet Asset Management Holding SA's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.09% of Microsoft worth $2,475,441,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 717,942,580 shares of the software giant's stock worth $347,211,391,000 after purchasing an additional 15,955,898 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Microsoft by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 306,150,608 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $148,060,557,000 after purchasing an additional 6,388,930 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 182,618,400 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $88,056,019,000 after purchasing an additional 1,911,142 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 121,220,561 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $58,624,690,000 after purchasing an additional 980,439 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,664,631,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft launched a new AI deployment business, Microsoft Frontier Company, backed by $2.5 billion and staffed with about 6,000 engineers and industry experts to help enterprises select, implement, and improve AI tools. Investors are viewing this as a way to accelerate Azure and Copilot adoption while monetizing the enterprise AI buildout. Microsoft launches its own AI deployment company with $2.5 billion commitment
• Positive Sentiment: Several articles highlighted Microsoft as a top AI and growth stock, while others said the market is rotating from semiconductors back toward software. That is helping sentiment around MSFT as investors look for higher-quality AI beneficiaries with recurring enterprise revenue. Microsoft launches firm to help companies adopt AI with $2.5 billion
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft is also reported to be overhauling Copilot to make its AI assistant more useful and easier to justify for customers. That could improve adoption, but it also underscores that AI products must now prove their value. Microsoft’s Copilot Reset Shows AI Tools Must Now Prove Their Worth
• Neutral Sentiment: There was also a new undersea cable partnership with Lightstorm to expand India-Southeast Asia connectivity, plus a report that enterprise customers continue to adopt Microsoft’s AI and cloud services. These are strategically helpful, but not immediate catalysts. Microsoft partners with Singapore's Lightstorm to build India-Southeast Asia undersea cable
• Negative Sentiment: Sentiment is still being held back by Microsoft’s weak recent stock performance, with articles noting its worst month in more than 25 years and renewed debate about whether the selloff is creating a buying opportunity. Microsoft Had Its Worst Month in More Than 25 Years. Should Investors Buy the Crash?
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft is also facing class-action securities litigation over alleged misrepresentations during the class period, which adds a legal overhang and may keep some investors cautious. Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman LLC Urges Microsoft Corporation Investors to Act: Class Action Filed Alleging Investor Harm
• Negative Sentiment: Other reports said Microsoft may cut thousands of jobs and that investors are questioning whether its massive AI capital spending can generate enough returns. That uncertainty is weighing on the stock despite the company’s strong long-term fundamentals. Microsoft eyes another wave of layoffs that could hit 5,000 workers next week

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $525.00 price objective (up from $450.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, April 24th. Arete Research boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $730.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. HSBC decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $593.00 to $571.00 in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Dbs Bank dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $678.00 to $573.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Forty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $560.86.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. This trade represents a 8.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,762 shares of company stock valued at $10,508,361. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of MSFT opened at $390.49 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $406.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $417.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.90 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.28. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $555.45.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.21. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The business had revenue of $82.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $81.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.46 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.67%.

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).

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSFT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.