Rep. David Taylor Unloads Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Shares

Representative David Taylor (R-Ohio) recently sold shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT). In a filing disclosed on June 02nd, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in Microsoft stock on May 12th. The trade occurred in the Representative's "DAVID TAYLOR TRUST > SARDINIA READY MIX 401(K) - DAVE" account.

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

• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Installed Building Products NYSE: IBP on 5/15/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Fifth Third Bancorp NASDAQ: FITB on 5/14/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Broadcom NASDAQ: AVGO on 5/14/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of UnitedHealth Group NYSE: UNH on 5/14/2025.
• Sold $15,001 - $50,000 in shares of UnitedHealth Group NYSE: UNH on 5/14/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Microsoft NASDAQ: MSFT on 5/13/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Salesforce NYSE: CRM on 5/12/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Amazon.com NASDAQ: AMZN on 3/27/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Parker-Hannifin NYSE: PH on 3/10/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. NYSE: JPM on 3/10/2025.

Microsoft Stock Up 0.8%

MSFT stock traded up $3.81 during trading on Thursday, reaching $467.68. 20,083,146 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,471,689. The firm's 50 day moving average is $413.59 and its 200 day moving average is $415.95. The firm has a market cap of $3.48 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03. 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 twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $469.58.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.24. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.94 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft's payout ratio is 25.66%.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 6,000 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $433.17, for a total transaction of $2,599,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 471,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,038,664.12. This trade represents a 1.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total transaction of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 135,743 shares of company stock valued at $60,224,683. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI set a $515.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. TD Securities boosted their target price on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty-one have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $513.13.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MSFT. WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 27.0% during the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant's stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. grew its holdings in Microsoft by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $5,658,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Microsoft by 410.4% during the third quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,144,000 after buying an additional 2,138 shares during the period. United Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 4.1% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 18,378 shares of the software giant's stock worth $7,908,000 after buying an additional 730 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wiser Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Microsoft by 8.7% in the third quarter. Wiser Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,840 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $1,652,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company's stock.

About Representative Taylor

David Taylor (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Ohio's 2nd Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2025. His current term ends on January 3, 2027. Taylor (Republican Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Ohio's 2nd Congressional District. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024. David Taylor graduated from Amelia High School. Taylor earned degrees from Miami University (Ohio) and the University of Dayton School of Law. Taylor's career experience includes working as an attorney and as a businessman at Sardinia Ready Mix, Inc.

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.