Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Buys 1,368,322 Shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) by 62.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,575,544 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,368,322 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.67% of Microchip Technology worth $205,057,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCHP. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microchip Technology during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in Microchip Technology by 309.5% during the fourth 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. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Microchip Technology during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Microchip Technology during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Microchip Technology in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Microchip Technology from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Microchip Technology from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Microchip Technology from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Microchip Technology has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.37.

Insider Activity at Microchip Technology

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 transaction of $226,717.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,272 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,025,599.36. This represents a 10.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microchip Technology Price Performance

MCHP stock opened at $48.70 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.98. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a 52 week low of $48.27 and a 52 week high of $100.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 86.96 and a beta of 1.52.

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

Microchip Technology Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.455 per share. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Microchip Technology’s dividend 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.