As Recession Fears Grow, This Congressman Buys 2 Consumer Defensive Stocks Paying Consistent Dividends

Over the past three and a half years, Congressman Pete Sessions has been actively involved in stock trading. According to Capitol Trades data, he conducted more than 80 trades till 2022, with his top three traded stocks being Microsoft (MSFT:US), Amazon (AMZN:US), and Nvidia (NVDA:US). However, there have been instances where the lawmaker failed to disclose stock trades, amounting up to $105,000 in 2021, which goes against federal conflicts of interest and transparency regulations. 

While supporting the need for greater transparency and integrity in reporting standards, Sessions does not advocate for a complete ban on stock trading by members of Congress. In terms of his purchases back in 2022, he acquired shares of two consumer defensive dividend stocks. He invested in Verizon Communications (VZ:US), the largest wireless carrier in the U.S., and purchased shares of McDonald's Corporation (MCD:US), the largest restaurant owner-operator globally. 

The trades involving Verizon and McDonald's were executed within a range of $1,000 to $15,000, with the former being bought for a closing price of $38.89 per share and the latter for a closing price of $251.08 per share. As per Capitol Trades data, these purchases were filed under Sessions' spouse. 

Congressman Sessions serves on the House Committee on Financial Services and the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. It is noteworthy that till the end of September 2022, 72 members of Congress violated the federal STOCK Act, which aims to prevent insider trading. 

While lawmakers such as Senators Elizabeth Warren and Steve Daines proposed banning members of Congress and their spouses from owning or trading individual stocks last year, Sessions supported enhanced reporting standards instead.