Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) Stock Position Reduced by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) by 91.5% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,176,154 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 12,611,431 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Microchip Technology were worth $105,512,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCHP. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Microchip Technology in the fourth quarter worth approximately $672,196,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in Microchip Technology by 18,944.8% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,973,045 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $177,002,000 after acquiring an additional 1,962,685 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Microchip Technology by 2.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,583,723 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,152,646,000 after acquiring an additional 1,921,497 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp grew its position in Microchip Technology by 324.0% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,815,013 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $163,678,000 after acquiring an additional 1,386,924 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Microchip Technology by 425.3% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,377,099 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $123,540,000 after buying an additional 1,114,962 shares during the last quarter. 91.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microchip Technology

In other news, Director Matthew W. Chapman sold 2,748 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.88, for a total transaction of $257,982.24. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 35,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,349,826.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, VP Stephen V. Drehobl sold 7,830 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.06, for a total value of $744,319.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 79,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,558,125.54. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Matthew W. Chapman sold 2,748 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.88, for a total value of $257,982.24. Following the transaction, the director now owns 35,682 shares in the company, valued at $3,349,826.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,993 shares of company stock valued at $2,251,857. 2.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MCHP. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Microchip Technology from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Microchip Technology from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Microchip Technology from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. B. Riley increased their price objective on shares of Microchip Technology from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Microchip Technology from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $102.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.17.

Microchip Technology Price Performance

NASDAQ MCHP traded up $1.80 during trading on Friday, hitting $86.83. 5,590,310 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,836,401. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company has a market cap of $46.59 billion, a PE ratio of 25.02 and a beta of 1.54. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $68.75 and a fifty-two week high of $100.57. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $92.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.45.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.57. Microchip Technology had a return on equity of 36.78% and a net margin of 24.98%. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 40.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Microchip Technology Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were given a dividend of $0.452 per share. This represents a $1.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 21st. This is an increase from Microchip Technology’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Microchip Technology’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.16%.

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.