Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) Shares Purchased by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) by 39.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 11,093,007 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,131,807 shares during the quarter. Microchip Technology makes up 0.8% of Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Microchip Technology were worth $636,184,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MCHP. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $264,430,000 after purchasing an additional 776,408 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microchip Technology by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,026,946 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $243,034,000 after buying an additional 25,872 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Microchip Technology by 9,901.6% in 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. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted 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 buying an additional 460,697 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in Microchip Technology by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,144,811 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $123,005,000 after acquiring an additional 25,451 shares during the period. 91.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microchip Technology Price Performance

MCHP opened at $53.85 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $57.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a 1 year low of $50.21 and a 1 year high of $100.57. The stock has a market cap of $28.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 96.16 and a beta of 1.50.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last announced 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 net margin of 6.49% and a return on equity of 12.41%. Analysts forecast that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 1.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microchip Technology Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.455 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. Microchip Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 325.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MCHP. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target (down from $95.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Microchip Technology from $71.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Microchip Technology from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com cut Microchip Technology from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their target price on Microchip Technology from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.11.

Microchip Technology Company Profile

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.