Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Increases Stake in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP - Free Report) by 56.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,492 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 23,868 shares during the quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Microchip Technology were worth $3,813,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microchip Technology during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Microchip Technology by 309.5% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 475 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Microchip Technology in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Microchip Technology in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microchip Technology during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 91.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 3,724 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 33,272 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,025,599.36. The trade was a 10.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCHP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Microchip Technology from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on Microchip Technology from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Microchip Technology from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Microchip Technology in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Microchip Technology from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $69.32.

Microchip Technology Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MCHP traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $46.89. 7,676,899 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,216,364. The business's 50-day moving average price is $49.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.73 and a beta of 1.51. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a 12 month low of $34.13 and a 12 month high of $100.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 2.25.

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

Microchip Technology Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $0.455 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.88%. Microchip Technology's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.