Prudential Financial Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) by 24.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 286,868 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 91,157 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.05% of Microchip Technology worth $16,452,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in Microchip Technology during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Microchip Technology during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in Microchip Technology by 309.5% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 475 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microchip Technology in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Microchip Technology during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 91.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 3,724 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.88, for a total transaction of $226,717.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 33,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,025,599.36. This represents a 10.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Microchip Technology from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Microchip Technology from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Microchip Technology from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Microchip Technology from $72.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microchip Technology presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.37.

Microchip Technology Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ MCHP opened at $50.79 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $27.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 90.70 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 2.25. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a 1 year low of $49.92 and a 1 year high of $100.57. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $55.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.16.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.15). Microchip Technology had a net margin of 6.49% and a return on equity of 12.62%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Microchip Technology Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.455 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Microchip Technology’s payout ratio is currently 325.00%.

Microchip Technology 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.