Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) Shares Bought by Plato Investment Management Ltd

Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) by 406.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,712 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,213 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Microchip Technology were worth $1,019,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCHP. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Microchip Technology by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 17,161 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,378,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments boosted its position in shares of Microchip Technology by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 8,463 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $679,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Microchip Technology by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,475 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,126,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Microchip Technology by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,470 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Microchip Technology by 48.5% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 768 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.51% of the company’s stock.

Microchip Technology Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MCHP opened at $57.95 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.17 billion, a PE ratio of 103.48 and a beta of 1.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $56.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.20. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a 1 year low of $50.21 and a 1 year high of $100.57.

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

Microchip Technology Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Microchip Technology’s payout ratio is 325.00%.

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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCHP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Microchip Technology in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $92.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Susquehanna decreased 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, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 target price (down previously from $101.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.11.

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.