Microsoft Corporation $MSFT is Candriam S.C.A.’s Largest Position

Candriam S.C.A. boosted its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,603,908 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 20,981 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up approximately 7.1% of Candriam S.C.A.’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $1,348,694,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. BLVD Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Management Ltd. raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, ARK & TLK Investments LLC lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Large AI spending and the semiconductor rally underpin demand for Microsoft’s cloud and AI infrastructure — investors see the $650B+ AI buildout as a tailwind for Azure and AI services. The $650 Billion AI Surge Is Here—2 Semiconductor ETFs to Play It
• Positive Sentiment: New customer/partner wins: Microsoft signed an MoU with Codelco to explore AI, analytics and automation for mining — a concrete enterprise adoption signal. Codelco, Microsoft sign AI deal for mining operations
• Positive Sentiment: Security and ecosystem momentum: Microsoft helped dismantle the Tycoon 2FA phishing operation and sees partners joining its security programs (Blue Cycle joining MISA), reinforcing its security leadership and partner distribution. Coinbase, Microsoft and Europol take down phishing service ‘Tycoon 2FA’ Blue Cycle LLC joins Microsoft Intelligent Security Association (MISA)
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical/sector rotation: commentary suggests a “right‑tail” rotation back into oversold software/AI names, which may amplify short‑term strength in MSFT even as fundamentals are sorted. Right Tail Rotation Still Working
• Neutral Sentiment: Cybersecurity peer strength (Okta beat) highlights demand for identity/security services — good for sector sentiment but also underscores competition in identity and AI agent governance. Okta Earnings Beat, But Growth Questions Remain
• Negative Sentiment: OpenAI moves and funding raise strategic questions: reports that OpenAI is developing alternatives to Microsoft‑owned developer tools (e.g., GitHub) and the big outside funding round complicate the partnership narrative and could weaken Microsoft’s exclusivity benefits. OpenAI is developing alternative to Microsoft’s GitHub
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and execution concerns persist: recent downgrades, commentary about a sizable YTD pullback and articles asking if the pullback is a buy signal show investors are split between long‑term AI conviction and short‑term margin/capex worries. Down 15% in 2026, Should You Buy the Dip in Microsoft Stock? Melius Research and Stifel Downgrade Microsoft to Hold
• Negative Sentiment: Operational/reputation noise: reports of widespread Outlook email blocking attracted criticism and could pose short‑term customer friction or regulatory scrutiny. Microsoft Draws Internet Ire Over Wave of Email Blocking

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. New Street Research raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $670.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $625.00 to $575.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $590.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday. Two equities research 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, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $591.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $397.35 per share, for a total transaction of $1,986,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 83,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,339,651.75. This represents a 6.34% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $410.68 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $436.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $480.53. The company has a market capitalization of $3.05 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year 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.

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

Microsoft 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).