Rep. Julie Johnson Sells Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares

Representative Julie Johnson (D-Texas) recently sold shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT). In a filing disclosed on May 14th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in Microsoft stock on April 1st. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “MERRILL LYNCH TAX EFFICIENT CORE” account.

Representative Julie Johnson also recently made the following trade(s):

• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE:FIS) on 4/30/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Blackstone (NYSE:BX) on 4/22/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE:FIS) on 4/22/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) on 4/15/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) on 4/11/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) on 4/11/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of DT Midstream (NYSE:DTM) on 4/7/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) on 4/7/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Howmet Aerospace (NYSE:HWM) on 4/7/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Carlisle Companies (NYSE:CSL) on 4/7/2025.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.3%

NASDAQ MSFT traded up $1.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $454.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 23,797,504 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,563,395. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The company has a market capitalization of $3.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $395.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $412.48.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.94 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 25.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $510.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,481,631. The trade was a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 471,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. This trade represents a 1.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 94,243 shares of company stock valued at $41,288,738 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth $44,343,058,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft in the first quarter worth $18,733,827,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 40,290.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 46,695,303 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $17,528,950,000 after purchasing an additional 46,579,693 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Microsoft by 34,643.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,837,278 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $7,096,913,000 after purchasing an additional 16,788,816 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Microsoft by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $35,316,535,000 after purchasing an additional 11,600,470 shares during the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Representative Johnson

Julie Johnson (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Texas’ 32nd Congressional District. She assumed office on January 3, 2025. Her current term ends on January 3, 2027.

Johnson (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Texas’ 32nd Congressional District. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Julie Johnson earned a B.A. in history and government from the University of Texas at Austin in 1987 and a J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center in 1991. Johnson’s career experience includes working as an attorney.

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.