Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) Stake Cut by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank lessened its holdings in shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,515,614 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 76,800 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.28% of Microchip Technology worth $86,920,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in Microchip Technology by 309.5% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 475 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Microchip Technology by 55.7% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,988 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $171,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microchip Technology by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 95,983 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,505,000 after acquiring an additional 5,097 shares in the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Microchip Technology during the fourth quarter valued at $405,000. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its position in Microchip Technology by 692.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 283,672 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $15,279,000 after purchasing an additional 247,872 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 3,724 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.88, for a total value of $226,717.12. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 33,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,025,599.36. The trade was a 10.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MCHP. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Microchip Technology in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Microchip Technology from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Microchip Technology from $71.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of Microchip Technology from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.37.

Microchip Technology Price Performance

Shares of Microchip Technology stock opened at $53.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The company has a market cap of $28.77 billion, a PE ratio of 95.54 and a beta of 1.52. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $56.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.79. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $50.21 and a fifty-two week high of $100.57.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.15). Microchip Technology had a net margin of 6.49% and a return on equity of 12.62%. Analysts expect that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 1.03 EPS for the current year.

Microchip Technology Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.455 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Microchip Technology’s payout ratio is 325.00%.

Microchip Technology Company Profile

Microchip Technology Incorporated engages in the development, manufacture, and sale of 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 mixed-signal 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.