Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 893,701 Shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP - Free Report) by 9.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,352,702 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 893,701 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 1.56% of Microchip Technology worth $670,639,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MCHP. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microchip Technology by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,147 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Corundum Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Microchip Technology by 3.4% in the third quarter. Corundum Group Inc. now owns 4,315 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $346,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI boosted its stake in shares of Microchip Technology by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 3,470 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Busey Bank grew its holdings in shares of Microchip Technology by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Busey Bank now owns 6,006 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $550,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Advocates Investment Management increased its position in Microchip Technology by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 10,795 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $867,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. 91.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCHP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial downgraded shares of Microchip Technology from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $89.00 to $80.00 in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Citigroup cut their price target on Microchip Technology from $92.00 to $82.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Microchip Technology in a report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, B. Riley cut their price objective on Microchip Technology from $110.00 to $103.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $92.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microchip Technology news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 2,154 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.50, for a total transaction of $175,551.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,257 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,710,445.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microchip Technology Stock Performance

Shares of Microchip Technology stock traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $74.30. 5,437,169 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,957,991. The company has a market capitalization of $39.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.99 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.94. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.12. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a 12 month low of $71.76 and a 12 month high of $100.57.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The semiconductor company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.15 billion. Microchip Technology had a return on equity of 28.33% and a net margin of 20.80%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 48.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.54 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microchip Technology Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.455 per share. This is an increase from Microchip Technology's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. Microchip Technology's dividend payout ratio is currently 126.57%.

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.