Sen. Shelley Moore Capito Sells Off Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia) recently sold shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). In a filing disclosed on January 06th, the Senator disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in Microsoft stock on December 16th.

Senator Shelley Moore Capito also recently made the following trade(s):

• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) on 12/16/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) on 12/16/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Kellanova (NYSE:K) on 12/11/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) on 11/13/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) on 11/13/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) on 11/13/2025.
• Sold $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) on 10/29/2025.
• Sold $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) on 10/29/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) on 10/24/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) on 10/22/2025.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MSFT opened at $483.63 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.59 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.07. Microsoft Corporation has a twelve month low of $344.79 and a twelve month high of $555.45. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $489.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $503.84.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The software giant reported $4.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $77.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $75.49 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.71% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Microsoft Corporation will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.89%.

Institutional Trading of Microsoft

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WFA Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in Microsoft by 27.0% during the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,016 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.3% during the second quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 12,658 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $5,658,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 410.4% in the 3rd quarter. Discipline Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,144,000 after purchasing an additional 2,138 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. increased its stake in Microsoft by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,374 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Microsoft by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 23,097 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $9,735,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank reaffirmed a Buy rating on Microsoft, which supports investor confidence and can buoy the stock ahead of results. Scotiabank Keeps Their Buy Rating on Microsoft (MSFT)
• Positive Sentiment: Anthropic is pursuing a huge new funding round (reportedly $10B at a ~$350B valuation) separate from the $15B pledges by Nvidia and Microsoft — this underscores MSFT’s deepening strategic exposure to big AI winners and supports long-term AI upside. Anthropic Aims to Nearly Double Valuation in New Funding Round
• Positive Sentiment: OpenAI (Microsoft-backed) launched ChatGPT Health, expanding AI use cases into healthcare — a high-value, enterprise-facing market that can drive Azure usage and product stickiness. OpenAI Pushes Deeper into Health Care with New ChatGPT Health Feature
• Positive Sentiment: Copilot’s high‑profile placement (calls tied to Super Bowl 60) and a new Azure-powered deal with Hexagon for humanoid factory robots deliver positive PR and concrete enterprise use cases that can help user/adoption metrics. Microsoft Stock (NASDAQ:MSFT) Jumps as Copilot Calls Super Bowl 60 Microsoft, Hexagon Put Humanoid Robots On Factory Floors
• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft set its quarterly earnings release date — an upcoming report is a direct catalyst that often increases trading volume and volatility as investors position around Azure/Copilot results. Microsoft announces quarterly earnings release date
• Neutral Sentiment: Large option trades (“market whales”) were active in MSFT — heavy option flow can amplify intraday moves but is ambiguous on direction until positions are netted out. Market Whales and Their Recent Bets on MSFT Options
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage debate over valuation — several pieces (Forbes, valuation analyses) argue Microsoft may be expensive at current multiples, which can limit upside and encourage profit‑taking despite strong fundamentals. Is Microsoft Stock Expensive?
• Negative Sentiment: Repeated media reports and rumors that Microsoft is planning thousands of job cuts (estimates vary widely) create near‑term uncertainty and headline risk; while cuts could boost margins later, they typically pressure sentiment on the news. Microsoft (MSFT) Is Rumored to Be Planning Thousands of Job Cuts as AI Spending Accelerates
• Negative Sentiment: Concerns about gaming market stagnation and AI’s impact on game development raised in industry pieces could weigh on Xbox/consumer-revenue sentiment for investors focused on that segment. 2025’s Most Popular Games Raise Concerns for Sony, Microsoft (MSFT) & Nintendo (NTDOF)

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 38,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $518.64, for a total transaction of $19,967,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 461,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $239,402,668.08. This trade represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 2,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.72, for a total value of $1,364,352.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 55,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,703,959.04. This trade represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 54,100 shares of company stock worth $27,598,872 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on MSFT. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $630.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Melius Research raised their price target on shares of Microsoft from $595.00 to $625.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Raymond James Financial cut their target price on Microsoft from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Microsoft from $640.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald set a $639.00 target price on Microsoft in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $631.03.

About Senator Capito

Shelley Moore Capito (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. Senate from West Virginia. She assumed office on January 3, 2015. Her current term ends on January 3, 2027. Capito (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the U.S. Senate to represent West Virginia. She won in the general election on November 3, 2020. Capito was first elected to the Senate in 2014, becoming the first female U.S. Senator in the state’s history. Prior to serving in the Senate, Capito was a member of the West Virginia House of Representatives from 1997 to 2001 and a member of the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2015. At the start of the 116th Congress, Capito was a member of the U.S. Senate committees on Appropriations, Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Environment and Public Works, and Rules and Administration. As of a 2014 analysis of multiple outside rankings, Capito is a more moderate right of center Republican Party vote. As a result, she may break with the Republican Party line more than her fellow members. Capito earned her bachelor’s degree from Duke University. After earning her M.Ed. from the University of Virginia, Capito was a college counselor and then director of an educational information center. She was the only Republican in the West Virginia congressional delegation until the 2010 elections and is the first Republican woman elected to Congress from West Virginia. Capito is a former chairwoman of the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues, as well as a member of the Congressional Arts Caucus. After an explosion responsible for the death of 29 coal workers, Capito founded the Congressional Coal Caucus. Prior to her election to the U.S. House, Capito served in the West Virginia House of Delegates.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft’s product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).