Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) by 8.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,638,536 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 714,166 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Microchip Technology were worth $438,070,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microchip Technology during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Microchip Technology during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Microchip Technology during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microchip Technology during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Microchip Technology by 390.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 628 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCHP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 price target (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Microchip Technology from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $65.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective (down from $95.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Microchip Technology from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of Microchip Technology from $85.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microchip Technology currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.11.

Microchip Technology Stock Performance

NASDAQ MCHP opened at $55.76 on Monday. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a 52-week low of $50.21 and a 52-week high of $100.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company has a market capitalization of $29.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 99.57 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a fifty day moving average of $56.79 and a 200-day moving average of $68.69.

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

Microchip Technology Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be given a $0.455 dividend. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. Microchip Technology’s payout ratio is presently 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.