Core Alternative Capital Cuts Stock Position in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Core Alternative Capital trimmed its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 11.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 42,232 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 5,298 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises 6.3% of Core Alternative Capital’s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Core Alternative Capital’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $21,874,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 5.9% in the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 342 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $170,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. BLVD Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 0.6% in the third quarter. BLVD Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,169 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,641,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA lifted its stake in Microsoft by 1.6% in the second quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 1,276 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $635,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. now owns 6,509 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $3,371,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, ARK & TLK Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. ARK & TLK Investments LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,002,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $650.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $650.00 to $600.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Wolfe Research reduced their target price on Microsoft from $625.00 to $530.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating and set a $392.00 target price (down from $540.00) on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating and four 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 $591.95.

Key Headlines Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BNP Paribas says OpenAI’s updated spending plan still benefits big cloud suppliers, reinforcing Azure demand for Microsoft’s AI infrastructure. OpenAI’s New Spending Plan Is Still a Positive for Microsoft and Oracle, Says BNP Paribas
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs’ bullish take on Microsoft after Maia 200 (Microsoft’s AI accelerator) narrows performance gaps with competitors gives a growth narrative that can support multiple expansion or limit downside. Maia 200 Gives Microsoft Stock (NASDAQ:MSFT) a Boost With Goldman Sachs, But Nowhere Else
• Positive Sentiment: Third‑party software and agents continue to land in Microsoft Marketplace (CrowdStrike Falcon, AI/R’s Llia, Reltio Azure certification), expanding Azure ecosystem monetization and ARR stickiness. Microsoft (MSFT) Positions for Long-Term AI and Enterprise Growth AI/R’s Intelligent AI Agent for Recruitment Operations Now Available in the Microsoft Marketplace
• Positive Sentiment: Bridgewater’s estimate that big tech will invest roughly $650B in AI this year supports continued hyperscaler demand for cloud/datacenter capacity—structural tailwind for Azure. Big Tech to invest about $650 billion in AI in 2026, Bridgewater says
• Neutral Sentiment: Market technicals and insider activity are mixed: a senior director’s recent buy and oversold indicators (RSI, MACD) suggest the selloff may be nearing exhaustion, but that’s not a guarantee of an immediate rebound. Microsoft stock page (MarketBeat)
• Negative Sentiment: Rising capex for AI/datacenters (66% surge noted by some analysts) is raising investor fears about the timing of returns and free‑cash‑flow pressure—even if Microsoft can fund spending internally. Is MSFT Stock Vulnerable to Rising CapEx Pressure From AI Spending?
• Negative Sentiment: Leadership change at Xbox—Phil Spencer’s retirement and Asha Sharma’s promotion—spooked investors who see gaming as a near‑term revenue headwind and worry about execution during the transition. That news contributed to intraday weakness. Gaming Reinvents Itself Around Software and Subscriptions Microsoft Stock (MSFT) Slips on Departure of Gaming CEO Phil Spencer
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst churn: some downgrades and skeptical coverage (e.g., recent downgrade notes) add selling pressure during the broader tech pullback. Palantir Upgraded, Microsoft Downgraded: Updated Rankings on Top Blue-Chip Stocks
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive and strategic risks: OpenAI’s expanding partnerships (consultancies) and questions about the long‑term return on Microsoft’s ~\$13B OpenAI investment create uncertainty about exclusive advantages and future monetization. OpenAI partners with McKinsey, BCG, Accenture, and Capgemini to push its Frontier AI agent platform Microsoft (MSFT) Stock: Tech Giant Locks 20% of OpenAI Revenue to 2032

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total value of $1,364,352.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 55,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,703,959.04. The trade was a 4.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John W. Stanton purchased 5,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 83,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microsoft Stock Down 3.2%

MSFT stock opened at $384.47 on Tuesday. Microsoft Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $344.79 and a fifty-two week high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.85 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.04, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $450.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $486.83.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. The company had revenue of $81.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.23 earnings per share. Microsoft’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.76%.

About Microsoft

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).