West Oak Capital LLC Sells 898 Shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

West Oak Capital LLC lessened its stake in shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) by 50.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 882 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 898 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Microchip Technology were worth $76,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Microchip Technology by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 14,557 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,313,000 after buying an additional 635 shares during the period. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in Microchip Technology during the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. IFG Advisory LLC bought a new position in Microchip Technology during the 4th quarter worth about $204,000. Tectonic Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microchip Technology by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 14,567 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,314,000 after purchasing an additional 775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bar Harbor Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Microchip Technology in the 4th quarter worth approximately $216,000. 91.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group lowered their target price on Microchip Technology from $105.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Microchip Technology from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Microchip Technology from $87.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microchip Technology has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.33.

Microchip Technology Stock Performance

MCHP traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $89.51. 778,321 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,740,914. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.65. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $86.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a 1-year low of $68.75 and a 1-year high of $94.30.

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

Microchip Technology Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a positive change from Microchip Technology’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Microchip Technology’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.06%.

Insider Activity at Microchip Technology

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

Microchip Technology Profile

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.