Rep. William R. Keating Purchases Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Representative William R. Keating (D-Massachusetts) recently bought shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT). In a filing disclosed on February 25th, the Representative disclosed that they had bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in Microsoft stock on February 5th. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “BILL’S IRA” account.

Representative William R. Keating also recently made the following trade(s):

• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Aramark (NYSE:ARMK) on 2/5/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) on 2/5/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Accenture (NYSE:ACN) on 2/5/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) on 1/24/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) on 1/24/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of CoStar Group (NASDAQ:CSGP) on 1/21/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) on 1/7/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) on 1/7/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Fiserv (NYSE:FI) on 1/7/2025.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of MSFT stock opened at $399.73 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.97 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $422.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $423.01. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $385.58 and a 12-month high of $468.35. 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 (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.93 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. Microsoft’s payout ratio is 26.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MSFT shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $509.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $520.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Microsoft from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $540.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Microsoft has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $510.96.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microsoft

In related news, CMO Takeshi Numoto sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $447.41, for a total value of $1,118,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 49,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,080,578.32. This represents a 4.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,070,340. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. XY Planning Network Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,422,000. Yoffe Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,770,000. LifeWealth Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,815,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,469,000. Finally, Financial Advisory Corp bought a new position in shares of Microsoft in the fourth quarter valued at $457,000. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Representative Keating

Bill Keating (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Massachusetts’ 9th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2013. His current term ends on January 3, 2027.

Keating (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Massachusetts’ 9th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.

After earning his bachelor’s degree, Keating went into politics as a 23-year-old representative in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. He served in that chamber for seven years and went on to be elected to the Massachusetts Senate. Keating also earned his master’s degree and J.D., passing the Massachusetts bar. In the decade between serving in the state senate and being elected to the U.S. House, Keating worked as the Norfolk district 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.