US Bancorp DE Reduces Stake in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

US Bancorp DE cut its holdings in shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) by 15.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 463,659 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 83,583 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Microchip Technology were worth $26,591,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MCHP. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Microchip Technology by 39.3% in 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. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Microchip Technology by 30.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,347,643 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $264,430,000 after purchasing an additional 776,408 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Microchip Technology by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,026,946 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $243,034,000 after purchasing an additional 25,872 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,829,082 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its stake in Microchip Technology by 20.1% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,751,987 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $220,957,000 after buying an additional 460,697 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on MCHP shares. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Microchip Technology in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Microchip Technology from $72.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Microchip Technology from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. 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 report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Microchip Technology from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.11.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 3,724 shares of the firm’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 value of $226,717.12. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 33,272 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,025,599.36. This trade represents a 10.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microchip Technology Stock Performance

MCHP stock opened at $58.86 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.66 billion, a PE ratio of 105.11 and a beta of 1.50. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.36. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a 12-month low of $50.21 and a 12-month high of $100.57. The company has a current ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last announced 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 net margin of 6.49% and a return on equity of 12.62%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microchip Technology Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a $0.455 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. Microchip Technology’s dividend 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.