PGGM Investments Sells 48,035 Shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

PGGM Investments lowered its holdings in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) by 86.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,443 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 48,035 shares during the period. PGGM Investments’ holdings in Microchip Technology were worth $427,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Microchip Technology by 39.3% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 11,093,007 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $636,184,000 after acquiring an additional 3,131,807 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Microchip Technology by 9,901.6% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,857,654 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $163,886,000 after acquiring an additional 2,829,082 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Microchip Technology by 30.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,347,643 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $264,430,000 after acquiring an additional 776,408 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in Microchip Technology by 20.1% during the third 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 acquiring an additional 460,697 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DF Dent & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Microchip Technology during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,744,000. Institutional investors own 91.51% of the company’s stock.

Microchip Technology Trading Up 3.1 %

NASDAQ:MCHP opened at $53.50 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $56.51 and a 200 day moving average of $65.79. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a 52 week low of $50.21 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 $28.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 95.54 and a beta of 1.52.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 6.49% and a return on equity of 12.62%. On average, research analysts predict that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Microchip Technology Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.455 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. Microchip Technology’s dividend payout ratio is currently 325.00%.

Insider Activity at Microchip Technology

In other Microchip Technology news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 3,724 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.88, for a total value of $226,717.12. Following the completion of 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on MCHP. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Microchip Technology in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microchip Technology presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.37.

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.