Plato Investment Management Ltd Trims Stock Position in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

Plato Investment Management Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) by 16.3% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,662 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 911 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Microchip Technology were worth $418,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Microchip Technology in the 4th quarter valued at about $672,196,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in Microchip Technology by 18,944.8% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,973,045 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $177,002,000 after buying an additional 1,962,685 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Microchip Technology by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,583,723 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,152,646,000 after purchasing an additional 1,921,497 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in Microchip Technology by 324.0% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,815,013 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $163,678,000 after acquiring an additional 1,386,924 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in Microchip Technology by 425.3% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,377,099 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $123,540,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114,962 shares in the last quarter. 91.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microchip Technology Trading Down 10.5 %

NASDAQ MCHP traded down $8.86 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $75.51. 12,976,095 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,915,342. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market cap of $40.51 billion, a PE ratio of 22.55 and a beta of 1.54. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $92.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.46. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a 52 week low of $68.75 and a 52 week high of $100.57.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The semiconductor company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.01. Microchip Technology had a return on equity of 36.78% and a net margin of 24.98%. The company had revenue of $1.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.24 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 45.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microchip Technology Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were issued a $0.452 dividend. This represents a $1.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 21st. This is an increase from Microchip Technology’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Microchip Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Microchip Technology in a research note on Monday, May 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Microchip Technology from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Microchip Technology from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley downgraded Microchip Technology from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Microchip Technology in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $106.00 target price for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microchip Technology

In related news, VP Stephen V. Drehobl sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.88, for a total transaction of $908,800.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 82,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,470,608.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, VP Stephen V. Drehobl sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.88, for a total value of $908,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 82,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,470,608.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Matthew W. Chapman sold 2,748 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.88, for a total value of $257,982.24. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 35,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,349,826.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,993 shares of company stock valued at $2,251,857 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.07% of the company’s stock.

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.