Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Trims Holdings in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund reduced its stake in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP - Free Report) by 55.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,025 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 8,860 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in Microchip Technology were worth $403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. 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. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Microchip Technology by 9,901.6% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,857,654 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $163,886,000 after buying an additional 2,829,082 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Microchip Technology by 30.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,347,643 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $264,430,000 after buying an additional 776,408 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in Microchip Technology by 20.1% during the third 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 buying an additional 460,697 shares during the period. Finally, DF Dent & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Microchip Technology during the third quarter valued at $27,744,000. 91.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on MCHP. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Microchip Technology from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Microchip Technology from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Microchip Technology in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered Microchip Technology from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Microchip Technology from $85.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.11.

Microchip Technology Trading Down 5.1 %

Shares of MCHP traded down $3.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $61.05. The company had a trading volume of 5,616,067 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,421,129. The firm has a market cap of $32.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 109.06 and a beta of 1.50. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $56.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.16. 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 $50.21 and a 52-week high of $100.57.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.15). Microchip Technology had a net margin of 6.49% and a return on equity of 12.62%. On average, research analysts predict that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 1.03 EPS for the current year.

Microchip Technology Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.455 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. Microchip Technology's dividend payout ratio is presently 325.00%.

Microchip Technology 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.