Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Buys Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock

23 Oct 2024, 19:04 by Kim Johansen · The Markets Daily

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) recently bought shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT). In a filing disclosed on October 22nd, the Representative disclosed that they had bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in Microsoft stock on October 21st.

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene also recently made the following trade(s):

Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) on 10/21/2024.
Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Visa (NYSE:V) on 10/21/2024.
Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.B) on 10/21/2024.
Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) on 10/21/2024.
Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) on 10/21/2024.
Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Home Depot (NYSE:HD) on 10/21/2024.
Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Nestlé (OTCMKTS:NSRGY) on 10/21/2024.
Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) on 10/21/2024.
Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Blackstone (NYSE:BX) on 10/21/2024.
Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) on 10/4/2024.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT traded down $4.08 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $423.43. The company had a trading volume of 11,315,115 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,250,918. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.15 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $420.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $424.56. Microsoft Co. has a twelve month low of $326.94 and a twelve month high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.05. Microsoft had a return on equity of 35.95% and a net margin of 35.96%. The firm had revenue of $64.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.69 EPS. Microsoft’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, September 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $60.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the software giant to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. This is a boost from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 28.74%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microsoft

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its position in Microsoft by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 282,295 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $118,766,000 after purchasing an additional 5,044 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its stake in Microsoft by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 80,247 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $34,208,000 after acquiring an additional 3,902 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New Hampshire boosted its position in Microsoft by 15.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 36,567 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $15,384,000 after acquiring an additional 4,913 shares during the period. Grassi Investment Management grew its stake in Microsoft by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Grassi Investment Management now owns 162,755 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $68,474,000 after acquiring an additional 1,416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grandview Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Grandview Asset Management LLC now owns 39,246 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $16,512,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total value of $1,027,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 50,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,552,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total transaction of $6,009,869.18. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $328,473,703.53. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.04, for a total transaction of $1,027,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,552,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. 0.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSFT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Microsoft from $485.00 to $470.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Microsoft from $465.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded Microsoft from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twenty-eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $495.58.

View Our Latest Report on Microsoft

About Representative Greene

Marjorie Taylor Greene (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Georgia’s 14th Congressional District. She assumed office on January 3, 2021. Her current term ends on January 3, 2025. Greene (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Georgia’s 14th Congressional District. She declared candidacy for the 2024 election. Marjorie Taylor Greene earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Georgia. Greene’s career experience includes co-owning construction company Taylor Commercial and founding and owning a CrossFit gym.

About Microsoft

(Get Free Report)

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.