CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. Makes New Investment in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. purchased 8,520 Microsoft shares worth approximately $3.18 million, making Microsoft its third-largest holding and 4.7% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 71.13% of Microsoft.
• Microsoft reported strong quarterly results, with revenue rising 17.7% year over year to $90.01 billion and EPS of $4.74, above expectations. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $578.73, while the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.98.
• Investors remain focused on Azure and Copilot growth, AI spending and upcoming earnings, while concerns include valuation, pressure on free cash flow from data-center investment, labor-program restrictions and regulatory scrutiny of its gaming business.

CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. purchased a new stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 8,520 shares of the software giant's stock, valued at approximately $3,178,000. Microsoft comprises about 4.7% of CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Frankly Finances LLC acquired a new position in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. PMV Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. increased its position in Microsoft by 37.4% during the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. now owns 125 shares of the software giant's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter valued at about $60,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft expanded its AI relationship with Nvidia and introduced the $2,599 Surface Laptop Ultra, powered by Nvidia’s RTX technology. The device is designed to run AI models and agents locally, potentially strengthening Windows’ role in the emerging “agentic” PC market. Is Microsoft Stock a Buy After Expanding Its Nvidia Partnership?
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to cite Azure momentum, Copilot demand and Microsoft’s large backlog as evidence that its more than $175 billion AI infrastructure investment could generate sustainable returns. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $600 price target, while other analysts have issued targets as high as $635. Microsoft’s Integrated AI Stack and Enterprise Copilot Flywheel Justify Buy Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft announced that fiscal 2027 first-quarter results will be released after the market closes on October 28. Investors are likely to focus on Azure growth, Copilot adoption, AI capital expenditures, free cash flow and forward guidance. Microsoft Announces Quarterly Earnings Release Date
• Negative Sentiment: The Labor Department suspended Microsoft from the Permanent Labor Certification program used to help foreign workers obtain U.S. permanent residency, alleging misuse of worker programs. The restriction could raise hiring costs and, over time, make it harder to retain specialized AI talent, although the near-term earnings impact is expected to be limited. U.S. Suspends Microsoft, Adobe From Green-Card Labor Program
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are increasingly concerned that Microsoft’s valuation is less attractive after its strong run, while heavy AI data-center spending may pressure free cash flow. Reports also questioned the reliability of OpenAI’s annual recurring revenue figures, adding uncertainty around a key AI partner. Oracle, Microsoft Shares Decline as OpenAI’s ARR Is Questioned
• Negative Sentiment: Italy launched an EU-backed antitrust investigation into Microsoft-owned gaming companies over their use of virtual currencies, creating an additional regulatory overhang for the Xbox business. Italy Launches EU-Backed Probe Into Microsoft-Owned Gaming Companies

Microsoft Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $522.61 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $499.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $434.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company has a market capitalization of $3.88 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.10, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.10. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.65 EPS. Analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a positive change from Microsoft's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Microsoft from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $530.00 to $575.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $660.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, August 10th. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $575.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Monday. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $578.73.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, EVP Amy Hood sold 41,674 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.27, for a total transaction of $20,764,903.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 533,624 shares in the company, valued at $265,888,830.48. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Judson Althoff sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.89, for a total value of $4,878,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 100,447 shares of the company's stock, valued at $49,007,086.83. The trade was a 9.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 143,009 shares of company stock worth $71,420,699. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices, gaming products and business solutions. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, the company is best known for the Windows operating system and Microsoft Office productivity software. Microsoft is headquartered in Redmond, Washington, and serves consumers, businesses, governments and educational institutions worldwide.

Microsoft's productivity and business offerings include Microsoft 365 applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, along with collaboration tools including Teams.

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