Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP - Free Report) by 98.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,370 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 620,159 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC's holdings in Microchip Technology were worth $652,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Microchip Technology during the 4th quarter worth approximately $452,627,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its position in shares of Microchip Technology by 273.2% in the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 5,345,096 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $306,541,000 after buying an additional 3,912,895 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted 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 buying an additional 3,131,807 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Microchip Technology by 90.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,360,805 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $364,792,000 after buying an additional 3,013,162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake 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 worth $163,886,000 after acquiring an additional 2,829,082 shares during the last quarter. 91.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on MCHP. Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $60.00 price objective (down previously from $95.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $71.00 to $58.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Microchip Technology in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Microchip Technology from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.68.

Insider Activity at Microchip Technology

In related news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 3,724 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Microchip Technology Stock Performance

MCHP stock traded up $0.22 on Monday, hitting $38.93. The company had a trading volume of 2,708,726 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,974,145. The stock has a market cap of $20.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.52 and a beta of 1.51. 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's 50-day simple moving average is $52.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.90. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a 12-month low of $34.13 and a 12-month high of $100.57.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 12.62% and a net margin of 6.49%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microchip Technology Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $0.455 dividend. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Microchip Technology's payout ratio is 325.00%.

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.