Blue Trust Inc. Sells 6,760 Shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

Blue Trust Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP - Free Report) by 64.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,773 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 6,760 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in Microchip Technology were worth $216,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MCHP. Van ECK Associates Corp increased 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 worth $636,184,000 after purchasing an additional 3,131,807 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Microchip Technology by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,347,643 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $264,430,000 after buying an additional 776,408 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position 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 during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,829,082 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in shares of 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 worth $220,957,000 after buying an additional 460,697 shares during the last quarter. 91.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MCHP. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Microchip Technology from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America lowered Microchip Technology from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on Microchip Technology from $85.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Microchip Technology from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Microchip Technology from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.11.

Microchip Technology Stock Performance

MCHP traded down $3.46 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $60.84. The company had a trading volume of 4,953,329 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,401,507. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $56.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.16. The company has a market cap of $32.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 108.54 and a beta of 1.50. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a 1 year low of $50.21 and a 1 year high of $100.57.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP - Get Free Report) last issued 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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 will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a $0.455 dividend. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. Microchip Technology's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.