Rep. Josh Gottheimer Sells Off Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Representative Josh Gottheimer (D-New Jersey) recently sold shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT). In a filing disclosed on November 06th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $15,001 and $50,000 in Microsoft stock on October 2nd. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “MORGAN STANLEY – SELECT UMA ACCOUNT # 1” account.

Representative Josh Gottheimer also recently made the following trade(s):

• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Texas Capital Bancshares (NASDAQ:TCBI) on 10/31/2024.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of ITT (NYSE:ITT) on 10/31/2024.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) on 10/31/2024.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of ICU Medical (NASDAQ:ICUI) on 10/31/2024.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of AppFolio (NASDAQ:APPF) on 10/31/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Gates Industrial (NYSE:GTES) on 10/31/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Techtronic Industries (OTCMKTS:TTNDY) on 10/29/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Techtronic Industries (OTCMKTS:TTNDY) on 10/28/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Disco (OTCMKTS:DSCSY) on 10/28/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Enerpac Tool Group (NYSE:EPAC) on 10/25/2024.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $425.43 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $360.36 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market cap of $3.16 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $420.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $424.80.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.10 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $65.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.61% and a return on equity of 34.56%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.99 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 12.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to buyback $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the software giant to repurchase up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 27.39%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total transaction of $32,017,386.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 864,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $353,189,942.01. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,349,953.73. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 78,353 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $408.63, for a total value of $32,017,386.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 864,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $353,189,942.01. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock valued at $77,916,485. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the subject of several research reports. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Microsoft from $490.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $506.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $503.03.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co lifted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co now owns 110,466 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $47,534,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. Princeton Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Microsoft by 1.0% during the third quarter. Princeton Capital Management LLC now owns 56,712 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $24,403,000 after buying an additional 545 shares in the last quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 2.8% in the third quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. now owns 25,478 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $10,963,000 after buying an additional 697 shares during the last quarter. Equita Financial Network Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Microsoft by 50.5% during the 3rd quarter. Equita Financial Network Inc. now owns 2,158 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $929,000 after acquiring an additional 724 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 141,549 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $60,909,000 after acquiring an additional 19,932 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Representative Gottheimer

Josh Gottheimer (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing New Jersey’s 5th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2017. His current term ends on January 3, 2025. Gottheimer (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent New Jersey’s 5th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2024 election. Gottheimer was first elected to the House in 2016. Prior to his election, Gottheimer worked for Microsoft, the Federal Communications Commission, and for the administration of President Bill Clinton (D). Click here for more information about Gottheimer’s career. Gottheimer serves on the House Financial Services Committee, where is a member of three subcommittees. For more on Gottheimer’s committee assignments, click here. Gottheimer became a co-chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus in February 2017. Gottheimer attended the University of Pennsylvania for his undergraduate degree. He became a Thouron Fellow at Oxford and attended Harvard Law School. Gottheimer worked as a speech writer under former President Bill Clinton (D), assisting with two State of the Union addresses, among other projects. Before running for Congress, he worked for Microsoft as a general manager for corporate strategy.

About Microsoft

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.