Empowered Funds LLC Reduces Stake in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

Empowered Funds LLC lessened its position in shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP - Free Report) by 27.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 69,784 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 26,379 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Microchip Technology were worth $4,002,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Microchip Technology by 25.1% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,961,200 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $599,239,000 after purchasing an additional 1,597,263 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microchip Technology by 30.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,347,643 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $264,430,000 after purchasing an additional 776,408 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microchip Technology by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,026,946 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $243,034,000 after purchasing an additional 25,872 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Microchip Technology by 9,901.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,829,082 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its stake in shares of Microchip Technology by 20.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 460,697 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.51% of the company's stock.

Microchip Technology Trading Up 2.8 %

MCHP stock traded up $1.50 during trading on Friday, hitting $55.76. 7,122,783 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,621,112. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.94 billion, a PE ratio of 99.57 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. The company has a 50-day moving average of $56.79 and a 200-day moving average of $68.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.88.

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 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 predict that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microchip Technology Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a $0.455 dividend. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. Microchip Technology's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 325.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MCHP shares. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Microchip Technology from $85.00 to $72.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Microchip Technology from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Microchip Technology in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Bank of America lowered Microchip Technology from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Raymond James restated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $60.00 target price (down from $95.00) 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 issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.11.

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.