Sen. Shelley Moore Capito Unloads Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock

Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia) recently sold shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT). In a filing disclosed on January 06th, the Senator disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in Microsoft stock on December 16th.

Senator Shelley Moore Capito also recently made the following trade(s):

• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of General Electric (NYSE:GE) on 12/27/2024.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) on 12/20/2024.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) on 12/13/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) on 12/12/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Carlisle Companies (NYSE:CSL) on 10/8/2024.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $422.37 on Wednesday. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $369.01 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The firm has a market cap of $3.14 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.85, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $428.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $427.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. Microsoft’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.99 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

Microsoft announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson downgraded Microsoft from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $475.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, September 23rd. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $495.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $511.62.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 117,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,911,598. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.72, for a total transaction of $414,720.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 57,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,200 shares of company stock worth $17,383,892. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its holdings in Microsoft by 169.2% during the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter worth $45,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the 3rd quarter valued at about $62,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the 2nd quarter worth about $75,000. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 10.1% in the third quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $145,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Senator Capito

Shelley Moore Capito (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. Senate from West Virginia. She assumed office on January 3, 2015. Her current term ends on January 3, 2027. Capito (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the U.S. Senate to represent West Virginia. She won in the general election on November 3, 2020. Capito was first elected to the Senate in 2014, becoming the first female U.S. Senator in the state’s history. Prior to serving in the Senate, Capito was a member of the West Virginia House of Representatives from 1997 to 2001 and a member of the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2015. At the start of the 116th Congress, Capito was a member of the U.S. Senate committees on Appropriations, Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Environment and Public Works, and Rules and Administration. As of a 2014 analysis of multiple outside rankings, Capito is a more moderate right of center Republican Party vote. As a result, she may break with the Republican Party line more than her fellow members. Capito earned her bachelor’s degree from Duke University. After earning her M.Ed. from the University of Virginia, Capito was a college counselor and then director of an educational information center. She was the only Republican in the West Virginia congressional delegation until the 2010 elections and is the first Republican woman elected to Congress from West Virginia. Capito is a former chairwoman of the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues, as well as a member of the Congressional Arts Caucus. After an explosion responsible for the death of 29 coal workers, Capito founded the Congressional Coal Caucus. Prior to her election to the U.S. House, Capito served in the West Virginia House of Delegates.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation develops and supports software, services, devices and solutions worldwide. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers office, exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft viva, and Microsoft 365 copilot; and office consumer services, such as Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions, Office licensed on-premises, and other office services.