Clearbridge Investments LLC Buys 362,579 Shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP - Free Report) by 18.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,320,212 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 362,579 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 0.43% of Microchip Technology worth $133,064,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCHP. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Microchip Technology during the 4th quarter valued at $452,627,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its position in shares of Microchip Technology by 273.2% during the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 5,345,096 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $306,541,000 after buying an additional 3,912,895 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake 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 worth $636,184,000 after buying an additional 3,131,807 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in 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 worth $163,886,000 after buying an additional 2,829,082 shares during the period. Finally, Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Microchip Technology in the fourth quarter worth about $78,661,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.51% of the company's stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 3,724 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 33,272 shares in the company, valued at $2,025,599.36. This represents a 10.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCHP has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com lowered Microchip Technology from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James reiterated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective (down previously from $95.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a report on Friday, February 7th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Microchip Technology from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $65.00 price objective (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a research note on Friday, February 7th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.37.

Microchip Technology Stock Down 11.0 %

Shares of Microchip Technology stock traded down $4.49 on Friday, reaching $36.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 26,402,713 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,606,282. The company has a market capitalization of $19.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.68 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a 52 week low of $36.10 and a 52 week high of $100.57. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $54.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.86.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.13 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Microchip Technology Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Microchip Technology's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.