Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Citizens & Northern Corp’s 5th Largest Position

Citizens & Northern Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,006 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 603 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up 4.2% of Citizens & Northern Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Citizens & Northern Corp’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $13,411,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 169.2% during the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 70 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 1,290.0% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Capital Management LLC now owns 139 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Microsoft in the fourth quarter worth approximately $58,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Microsoft during the second quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Finally, Bellevue Group AG lifted its stake in Microsoft by 47.5% in the first quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 180 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Microsoft Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $415.84 on Friday. Microsoft Co. has a 12-month low of $324.39 and a 12-month high of $468.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.09 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $417.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $424.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The software giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $64.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.38 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.96% and a return on equity of 35.95%. The company’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.69 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, September 16th that permits the company to buyback $60.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the software giant to reacquire up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Microsoft Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. This is a positive change from Microsoft’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Microsoft’s payout ratio is currently 28.74%.

Insider Transactions at Microsoft

In related news, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of Microsoft stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total value of $6,009,869.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $328,473,703.53. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Amy Hood sold 38,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.55, for a total value of $15,600,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 496,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,784,292.95. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Satya Nadella sold 14,398 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $417.41, for a total transaction of $6,009,869.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 786,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $328,473,703.53. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 190,629 shares of company stock worth $77,916,485. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MSFT. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup cut their target price on Microsoft from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Argus raised their price objective on Microsoft from $475.00 to $526.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Microsoft from $470.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $493.47.

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.