Coho Partners Ltd. Sells 236,322 Shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

Coho Partners Ltd. lessened its position in shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) by 16.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,206,822 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 236,322 shares during the period. Microchip Technology comprises 3.2% of Coho Partners Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Coho Partners Ltd. owned approximately 0.22% of Microchip Technology worth $69,211,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Microchip Technology by 39.3% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 11,093,007 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $636,184,000 after purchasing an additional 3,131,807 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Microchip Technology by 9,901.6% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,857,654 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $163,886,000 after purchasing an additional 2,829,082 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Microchip Technology by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,347,643 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $264,430,000 after purchasing an additional 776,408 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in Microchip Technology by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,751,987 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $220,957,000 after purchasing an additional 460,697 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DF Dent & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Microchip Technology in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,744,000. 91.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on MCHP shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $71.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Microchip Technology from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective (down from $101.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Microchip Technology from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.11.

Microchip Technology Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:MCHP opened at $54.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $56.94 and a 200-day moving average of $69.14. The company has a market cap of $29.14 billion, a PE ratio of 96.89 and a beta of 1.50. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a one year low of $50.21 and a one year high of $100.57.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 12.41% and a net margin of 6.49%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 1.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microchip Technology Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.455 per share. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. Microchip Technology’s payout ratio is currently 325.00%.

About Microchip Technology

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.