Citizens & Northern Corp Sells 2,922 Shares of Microsoft Corporation $MSFT

Key Points

• Citizens & Northern Corp reduced its Microsoft stake by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 2,922 shares and ending with 28,309 shares valued at about $13.69 million. Microsoft still ranks as the fund’s 8th-largest holding and makes up roughly 3.4% of its portfolio.
• Wall Street remains broadly bullish on MSFT despite several analysts trimming price targets. The stock has 39 Buy ratings and 7 Hold ratings, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $560.88.
• Microsoft posted strong quarterly results and raised its dividend profile, with EPS of $4.27 beating estimates and revenue of $82.89 billion topping forecasts. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.91 per share, payable June 11, for an annualized yield of 0.9%.

Citizens & Northern Corp lessened its stake in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 9.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,309 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 2,922 shares during the quarter. Microsoft makes up approximately 3.4% of Citizens & Northern Corp's holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Citizens & Northern Corp's holdings in Microsoft were worth $13,691,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of Microsoft by 51.3% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 287.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 89 shares of the software giant's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Microsoft during the third quarter worth about $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.13% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MSFT has been the topic of several research reports. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $675.00 to $575.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $586.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $600.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $500.00 price objective on the stock. Thirty-nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $560.88.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 137,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,486,322.16. This trade represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,922,874.02. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Microsoft Price Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $417.42 on Wednesday. Microsoft Corporation has a 12 month low of $356.28 and a 12 month high of $555.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 24.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.10. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $398.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $439.04.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The software giant reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.06 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $82.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $81.44 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.34% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Microsoft Corporation will post 16.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.67%.

Microsoft News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Microsoft’s Azure cloud business is still growing strongly, with recent commentary pointing to about 40% growth, reinforcing the company’s AI and cloud leadership thesis. 9 Best Cloud Stocks to Buy as Azure Growth Hits 40%
• Positive Sentiment: The jury defeat for Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI removed a legal overhang around Microsoft’s AI partner ecosystem and was viewed as a bullish development for MSFT’s broader AI strategy. Musk loses blockbuster OpenAI suit as jury says too late
• Positive Sentiment: New product news around Surface devices for business and AI workloads suggests Microsoft is still pushing enterprise hardware and AI adoption across its ecosystem. Microsoft launches Surface Pro 12 and Surface Laptop 8 with Intel chips
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft also unveiled enterprise Surface models powered by Intel Core Ultra chips, which is a product refresh but not likely a major near-term stock catalyst on its own. Microsoft (MSFT) Unveils Enterprise Surface Lineup Powered by Intel Core Ultra Series 3
• Neutral Sentiment: LinkedIn said it will lay off more than 600 employees, a cost-cutting move that may help margins but also signals restructuring inside Microsoft’s professional networking unit. Panic in California as LinkedIn announces hundreds of layoffs
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors are focusing on concerns about mixed Xbox messaging, which may be weighing on sentiment around Microsoft’s gaming segment. Microsoft Stock (MSFT) Slips on Mixed Xbox Messaging
• Negative Sentiment: Another report highlighted a Windows drivers issue that could hurt battery life on Windows 11 laptops, adding a small but negative product-quality overhang. “Blind Spot” in Windows Drivers Leads to Sub-Par Battery Life, Microsoft Stock NASDAQ: MSFT Slips
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling by EVP Amy Coleman, while modest, can also dampen sentiment when the stock is already under pressure. Microsoft NASDAQ: MSFT EVP Amy Coleman Sells 1,262 Shares

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).

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