Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) Shares Sold by Wright Investors Service Inc.

Wright Investors Service Inc. cut its holdings in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) by 32.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,952 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 2,824 shares during the quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Microchip Technology were worth $537,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MCHP. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Microchip Technology by 31.8% in the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,731 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,633,000 after buying an additional 5,237 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its position in Microchip Technology by 292.9% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 44,324 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,331,000 after purchasing an additional 33,044 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in Microchip Technology by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 29,572 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,259,000 after purchasing an additional 1,159 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Microchip Technology by 34.1% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,455 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 1,133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its holdings in shares of Microchip Technology by 1,272.4% in the 1st quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 326,717 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $24,550,000 after buying an additional 302,910 shares during the period. 91.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microchip Technology Trading Down 1.0 %

MCHP opened at $84.21 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $86.58 and its 200-day moving average is $84.24. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a 52-week low of $68.75 and a 52-week high of $94.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.65.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The semiconductor company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.04. Microchip Technology had a net margin of 27.59% and a return on equity of 45.59%. The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 4.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microchip Technology Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. This is an increase from Microchip Technology’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Microchip Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microchip Technology news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 1,970 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.90, for a total transaction of $165,283.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,759,722.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Karlton D. Johnson sold 370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.00, for a total value of $31,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $150,276. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 1,970 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.90, for a total value of $165,283.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 32,893 shares in the company, valued at $2,759,722.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCHP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Microchip Technology from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 29th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Microchip Technology from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Microchip Technology in a report on Monday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Microchip Technology from $87.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Microchip Technology in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.50.

About Microchip Technology

Microchip Technology Incorporated develops, manufactures, and sells smart, connected, and secure embedded control solutions in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The company offers general purpose 8-bit, 16-bit, and 32-bit microcontrollers; 32-bit embedded mixed-signal microprocessors; and specialized microcontrollers for automotive, industrial, computing, communications, lighting, power supplies, motor control, human machine interface, security, wired connectivity, and wireless connectivity applications.