PICTET BANK & TRUST Ltd Purchases 6,926 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• PICTET BANK & TRUST Ltd boosted its Microsoft stake by 71.5%, buying 6,926 shares to hold 16,619 shares worth $8.005 million, which is about 9.6% of its portfolio and its second‑largest holding.
• Microsoft reported an earnings beat (Q EPS $4.14 vs. $3.86) with revenue of $81.27B (+16.7% y/y), a $2.85T market cap, and announced a $0.91 quarterly dividend ($3.64 annual, ~0.9% yield).
• Institutional demand remains heavy — large investors like Norges Bank, UBS and Northern Trust have sizable or increased positions, institutions own about 71.13% of MSFT, and analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" with a ~ $586 price target.

PICTET BANK & TRUST Ltd boosted its position in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 71.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,619 shares of the software giant's stock after buying an additional 6,926 shares during the period. Microsoft accounts for approximately 9.6% of PICTET BANK & TRUST Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. PICTET BANK & TRUST Ltd's holdings in Microsoft were worth $8,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MSFT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $50,493,678,000. Nuveen LLC acquired 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 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 valued at $30,840,432,000 after purchasing an additional 49,618,571 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $14,905,904,000 after purchasing an additional 29,906,791 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $35,316,535,000 after purchasing an additional 11,600,470 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Trading Up 3.6%

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $384.37 on Tuesday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $391.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $456.51. Microsoft Corporation has a 1-year low of $355.67 and a 1-year high of $555.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.85 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.86 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 32.34% and a net margin of 39.04%.Microsoft's revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.23 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio is 22.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore dropped their target price on Microsoft from $640.00 to $580.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on Microsoft from $659.00 to $556.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $586.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $630.00 to $615.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $660.00 to $635.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $586.26.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other news, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 83,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This trade represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total value of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Unusually heavy bullish options flow: traders bought roughly 811,669 MSFT call options Monday (about +31% vs. average), signaling short‑term investor conviction and speculative buying that can lift the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Investor/market commentary is bullish — some investors now say it’s time to pounce after the pullback, framing MSFT as a value play with long-term AI and Azure upside. Microsoft Stock (MSFT) Rebound Gains Steam
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst backing and buy‑the‑dip narratives: Bernstein and other bull cases argue AI capex fears are over‑priced and the pullback creates a margin of safety; several firms maintain bullish ratings and lofty price targets (median target still well above current levels). ‘This Looks Worse Than It Is,’ Says Bernstein
• Positive Sentiment: Positive fundamentals on AI monetization: coverage highlights Copilot, Azure growth and a sizable AI backlog as drivers of revenue and margins — supporting the bull narrative that near‑term noise may not derail long‑term cash flow. This Is How Microsoft Is Making Money from AI Right Now
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming catalyst: Microsoft reports earnings later this month (April 29) — results and Azure growth commentary could amplify moves in either direction, so many traders are positioning ahead of the print. Should You Buy Microsoft Stock Before April 29?
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector tailwind: tech stocks were broadly firmer late Monday, which often lifts large-cap names like MSFT alongside the group. Sector Update: Tech Stocks Gain Late Afternoon
• Negative Sentiment: OpenAI partnership friction: a leaked internal memo and reporting that OpenAI sees Microsoft as limiting its enterprise reach — plus OpenAI’s pivot toward Amazon/AWS — raise strategic risk to MSFT’s exclusive‑access narrative and could pressure future AI revenue assumptions. OpenAI touts Amazon alliance in memo, says Microsoft has 'limited our ability'
• Negative Sentiment: Competition and product overlap: Anthropic and others are expanding into Office/enterprise integrations (e.g., Claude for Word), which could cap some of Microsoft’s Copilot upside and add competitive pressure. Anthropic Launches Claude for Word
• Negative Sentiment: AI capex and margin concerns: social and analyst discussion flag heavy AI infrastructure spending and a technical downtrend; if capex keeps compressing margins or Azure growth disappoints, downside could deepen before recovery. Microsoft Stock Opinions on AI Capex-Driven Drawdown

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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