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

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 $15,001 and $50,000 in Microsoft stock on April 1st. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “MERRILL LYNCH LONG TERM GROWTH” 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 opened at $454.27 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $395.33 and its 200 day moving average is $412.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Microsoft Co. has a 12 month low of $344.79 and a 12 month high of $468.35. The stock has a market cap of $3.38 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Microsoft Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This trade represents a 23.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total value of $2,599,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 94,243 shares of company stock worth $41,288,738. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MSFT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,343,058,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft in the 1st quarter valued at about $18,733,827,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 40,290.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 46,695,303 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $17,528,950,000 after buying an additional 46,579,693 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 34,643.3% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,837,278 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $7,096,913,000 after buying an additional 16,788,816 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 83,787,746 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $35,316,535,000 after buying an additional 11,600,470 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $480.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $510.30.

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.