The trading activity of members of Congress continues to be closely monitored by investors, especially when the moves include Magnificent Seven or large technology stocks. One member of Congress recently sold some Magnificent Seven stocks.
• Home Depot stock is showing downward pressure. What should traders watch with HD?
Congressman Switches Things Up
Rep. David Taylor (R-Ohio) recently disclosed multiple trades made on May 15, which can be tracked on the Benzinga Government Trades page.
Taylor sold the following stocks:
- Sold $15,000 to $50,000 in Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) shares
- Sold $1,000 to $15,000 in Alphabet Inc shares
- Sold $1,000 to $15,000 in Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares
- Sold $1,000 to $15,000 in Apple Inc shares
Taylor bought the following stocks:
- Bought $1,000 to $15,000 in Home Depot (NYSE:HD) shares
- Bought $1,000 to $15,000 in Home Depot shares
- Bought $1,000 to $15,000 in Medpace Holdings (NASDAQ:MEDP) shares
- Bought $1,000 to $15,000 in Medpace Holdings shares
- Bought $1,000 to $15,000 in Parker-Hannifin (NYSE:PH) shares
- Bought $1,000 to $15,000 in Parker-Hanifin shares
- Bought $1,000 to $15,000 in AT&T (NYSE:T) shares
- Bought $1,000 to $15,000 in AT&T shares
The moves could have been made for a number of reasons, but come as Taylor has been actively buying Home Depot stock for months. The congressman has reported hundreds of trades over the past two years, with most transactions in the $1,000 to $15,000 range.
Why the New Stocks?
Belonging to the Committee on Agriculture and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and related subcommittees doesn’t make any of the recent trades jump out as conflicts of interest.
Taylor could be taking profits in some older positions or looking for dividend yield.
Home Depot has a dividend yield of 3%. Parker-Hannifin and AT&T have dividend yields of 1% and 4.5%, respectively, while Medpace does not currently pay a dividend.
Compare those yields to the 0.4% and 0.2% respective yields of Apple and Alphabet.
Home Depot reported quarterly results this month, with earnings per share and revenue beating analyst estimates. The company has beaten analyst estimates for earnings per share in two straight quarters and revenue in three straight quarters.
Each of earnings per share and revenue has beaten estimates in seven of the past 10 quarters overall.
The home improvement retailer reaffirmed its full-year guidance, expecting total sales to be up 2.5% to 4.5% and comparable sales growth to be flat to up 2%. Earnings per share guidance was also reaffirmed by the company.
Taylor’s latest stock transactions could be about changing his portfolio around, taking profits, buying up one of his favorite stocks, or looking for dividends. Investors who like dividends may want to pay attention to the congressman’s trades going forward.
Image via Shutterstock
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