Sen. Shelley Moore Capito Sells Off Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia) recently sold shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT). In a filing disclosed on February 13th, the Senator disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in Microsoft stock on January 17th.

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

• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Aflac (NYSE:AFL) on 1/17/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) on 1/17/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW) on 1/17/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) on 1/17/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) on 1/17/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) on 1/17/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) on 1/17/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Chubb (NYSE:CB) on 1/17/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) on 1/17/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) on 1/3/2025.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $408.43 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $385.58 and a 1-year high of $468.35. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $429.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $423.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.88, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.93 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 26.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MSFT. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 target price on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $510.96.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fiduciary Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its holdings in Microsoft by 35.7% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 95 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. IFS Advisors LLC lifted its position in Microsoft by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft in the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Judson Althoff sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.00, for a total value of $10,425,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 1,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 57,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,850,961.92. The trade was a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,000 shares of company stock worth $14,333,540. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

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.

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.