NEW YORK, May 15 (Reuters) - Two of Wall Street's most

closely watched billionaire stock pickers, both once voluble

activist investors, took opposite tacks this year when Bill

Ackman bet on Microsoft ( MSFT ) and exited Google parent

Alphabet and Daniel Loeb did the opposite.

Ackman said on X his firm Pershing Square began building a

new position in software giant Microsoft ( MSFT ) in February after

shares dropped, saying investors weren't giving it enough credit

for its Microsoft ( MSFT ) 365 office suite and artificial intelligence

investments.

Loeb's hedge fund Third Point, on the other hand, sold

925,000 shares of Microsoft ( MSFT ) during the first quarter,

liquidating a position the firm had held since late 2022,

according to a new regulatory filing.

Ackman and Loeb once ranked among Wall Street's loudest

activist investors, pushing companies to perform better with

suggestions ranging from selling off divisions to firing CEOs.

In recent years, both have adopted a quieter tone,

sidestepping public fights that generated headlines, and instead

making stock picks and riding along. Picks by the two are

closely followed by investors parsing their quarterly filings.

Loeb's Third Point reported it bought 175,000 shares in

Google parent Alphabet in the first quarter, while Ackman sold

down most of his position in the company, according to a

regulatory filing. A source said Ackman exited the rest of his

Alphabet holding in the second quarter.

Also during the first quarter, both Pershing Square and

Third Point established new positions in Meta Platforms ( META )

, their filings show. Reuters first reported the

position in February when Ackman told clients the technology and

social media heavyweight will benefit from artificial

intelligence.

The regulatory filings showed Loeb and Ackman and other big

investors who filed their quarterly 13F holding data with the

Securities and Exchange Commission are being more selective in

investing in the "Magnificent Seven" AI giants, a group that

includes Meta, Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Alphabet.