Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Sells 7,996,205 Shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. decreased its stake in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) by 98.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 112,205 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 7,996,205 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Microchip Technology were worth $6,435,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCHP. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Microchip Technology by 39.3% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 11,093,007 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $636,184,000 after purchasing an additional 3,131,807 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Microchip Technology by 9,901.6% in the 4th 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 during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Microchip Technology by 30.2% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in Microchip Technology by 20.1% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, DF Dent & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Microchip Technology in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,744,000. Institutional investors own 91.51% of the company’s stock.

Microchip Technology Trading Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ:MCHP opened at $51.90 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 92.68 and a beta of 1.52. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.07. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a 12 month low of $50.21 and a 12 month high of $100.57.

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 return on equity of 12.62% and a net margin of 6.49%. Analysts expect that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 1.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microchip Technology Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.455 dividend. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Microchip Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 325.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microchip Technology

In other Microchip Technology news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 3,724 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,025,599.36. This trade 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 this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MCHP shares. B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 price target (down from $85.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $72.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Microchip Technology from $71.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.37.

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.