Petersen Hastings Wealth Advisors Inc. Grows Stake in Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Petersen Hastings Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 29.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,432 shares of the software giant’s stock after buying an additional 2,164 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 0.3% of Petersen Hastings Wealth Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Petersen Hastings Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $3,518,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% during the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bernzott Capital Advisors purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 287.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frankly Finances LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft reportedly plans to expand data-center capacity to approximately 38 gigawatts by 2032—more than triple its current footprint. The scale of the investment underscores management’s confidence in long-term Azure and AI demand, although the spending commitment also increases financial risk. Microsoft plans 38 gigawatts of data center capacity by 2032
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft expanded its partnership with Talkdesk, allowing customers to buy contact-center AI software with existing Azure commitments through the Azure Marketplace. The arrangement could increase Azure consumption and make enterprise AI adoption easier. Talkdesk and Microsoft expand partnership
• Positive Sentiment: TrueFoundry’s AI Gateway is now available in the Microsoft Marketplace, adding another enterprise AI workload to Azure’s commercial ecosystem. Microsoft is also promoting enforceable privacy controls for schools using AI, which may support adoption in sensitive education markets. TrueFoundry AI Gateway availability
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and bullish commentary continue to point to Azure’s more-than-$100 billion annual revenue, rising Copilot adoption and Microsoft’s strong profitability as reasons the stock could outperform. However, the shares remain valued near 28 times earnings, leaving less room for disappointment. Microsoft bull case
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that the AI infrastructure buildup will pressure free cash flow and returns on capital. A separate analysis downgraded Microsoft, arguing that the company’s capital-expenditure rotation does not support an optimistic outlook. Microsoft capital expenditure downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Higher Treasury yields are weighing on expensive technology stocks, while Dynamics 365 Activate faces questions about slowing growth and softer bookings despite its effort to win Salesforce migrations. Microsoft also disclosed a record Patch Tuesday involving 974 vulnerabilities, including two exploited Windows zero-days, highlighting ongoing security and reputational risks. Microsoft Patch Tuesday vulnerabilities

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $492.44 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $453.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $418.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.66 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.42, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Microsoft Corporation has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. Microsoft had a net margin of 40.31% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company had revenue of $90.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.65 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Corporation will post 19.59 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MSFT. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Microsoft from $545.00 to $512.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Evercore set a $528.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Argus reduced their price target on Microsoft from $620.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Forty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $564.27.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 86,525 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.46, for a total transaction of $43,388,826.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 486,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $244,092,173.98. The trade was a 15.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total transaction of $2,388,068.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,677 shares in the company, valued at $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 101,335 shares of company stock worth $50,655,795. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops software, cloud services, devices and digital solutions for consumers, businesses and public-sector organizations. Its products and services include the Windows operating system, Microsoft 365 productivity applications, Teams collaboration software, Dynamics business applications and Azure cloud computing services.

The company also operates LinkedIn, GitHub and Xbox, which includes gaming consoles, video games and related online services.