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 December 05th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in Microsoft stock on November 12th. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “MORGAN STANLEY – SELECT UMA ACCOUNT # 1” account.

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

• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:REGN) on 11/29/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) on 11/27/2024.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) on 11/27/2024.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Vertiv (NYSE:VRT) on 11/27/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) on 11/26/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Dominion Energy (NYSE:D) on 11/26/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) on 11/26/2024.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Eaton (NYSE:ETN) on 11/25/2024.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) on 11/22/2024.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) on 11/22/2024.

Microsoft Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.25 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $421.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $427.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Microsoft Co. has a 1-year low of $364.13 and a 1-year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software giant reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.10 by $0.20. Microsoft had a return on equity of 34.56% and a net margin of 35.61%. The firm had revenue of $65.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $64.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.99 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share 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 paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of ∞. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is 27.39%.

Microsoft announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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 plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MSFT has been the subject of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $501.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $495.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $504.36.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its position in Microsoft by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,975,200 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $882,816,000 after buying an additional 31,401 shares during the period. Jacobs & Co. CA increased its position in Microsoft by 0.9% during the third quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 96,021 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $41,318,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares during the period. New Harbor Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 55.9% during the 2nd quarter. New Harbor Financial Group LLC now owns 1,255 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $561,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd now owns 106,292 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $45,737,000 after purchasing an additional 10,421 shares during the period. Finally, Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. grew its position in Microsoft by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. now owns 430,730 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $192,515,000 after purchasing an additional 8,290 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 40,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.59, for a total transaction of $16,103,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 544,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,349,953.73. This trade represents a 6.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher David Young sold 7,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.66, for a total value of $3,050,352.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 103,366 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,792,039.56. This represents a 6.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 98,578 shares of company stock worth $40,553,696. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.