Benjamin Edwards Inc. Has $755,000 Stock Holdings in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP - Free Report) by 5,185.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,408 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,230 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Microchip Technology were worth $755,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MCHP. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Microchip Technology by 25.7% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 96,163 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $7,721,000 after purchasing an additional 19,663 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in Microchip Technology by 52.1% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 24,713 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,984,000 after buying an additional 8,467 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Microchip Technology by 14.2% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 260,063 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $20,880,000 after acquiring an additional 32,340 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its stake in Microchip Technology by 50.0% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 105,694 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $8,486,000 after acquiring an additional 35,213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in shares of Microchip Technology during the third quarter valued at $2,391,000. 91.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on MCHP shares. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Microchip Technology in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Mizuho set a $95.00 price objective on Microchip Technology in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Microchip Technology from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Microchip Technology in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Microchip Technology from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $90.95.

Microchip Technology Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of MCHP traded up $1.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $59.29. 8,676,903 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,666,826. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company has a market cap of $31.84 billion, a PE ratio of 41.46 and a beta of 1.50. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a 52 week low of $57.96 and a 52 week high of $100.57.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The semiconductor company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.03. Microchip Technology had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 14.22%. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.54 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 48.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microchip Technology Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a $0.455 dividend. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. This is a boost from Microchip Technology's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. Microchip Technology's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 127.27%.

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.