Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares Acquired by Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG

Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 7.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 884,733 shares of the software giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 58,386 shares during the quarter. Microsoft comprises 9.6% of Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $393,957,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 667,987,038 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $281,035,506,000 after acquiring an additional 3,078,099 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $35,920,047,000. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Microsoft by 1.0% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 83,571,070 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $35,160,020,000 after purchasing an additional 842,884 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,381,692 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $9,544,532,000 after purchasing an additional 403,409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 13,640,068 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $6,096,428,000 after buying an additional 360,171 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $506.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America increased their price target on Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Finally, Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $493.94.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total transaction of $6,009,869.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total value of $1,027,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,552,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total transaction of $6,009,869.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $428.02 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $3.18 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.06, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.90. Microsoft Co. has a fifty-two week low of $309.45 and a fifty-two week high of $468.35. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $419.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $424.99.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.69 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.74%.

Microsoft announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Company Profile

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.