First Merchants Corp Sells 83,718 Shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

First Merchants Corp reduced its holdings in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) by 79.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,981 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 83,718 shares during the quarter. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in Microchip Technology were worth $1,261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MCHP. CX Institutional grew its holdings in shares of Microchip Technology by 6.4% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 12,902 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,036,000 after purchasing an additional 776 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its position in Microchip Technology by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 116,549 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,358,000 after buying an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its position in Microchip Technology by 62.3% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 34,885 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,801,000 after buying an additional 13,392 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in Microchip Technology by 24.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 67,532 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,422,000 after acquiring an additional 13,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its position in Microchip Technology by 55.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 613 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. 91.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microchip Technology Stock Performance

Shares of MCHP stock opened at $54.26 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $29.14 billion, a PE ratio of 96.89 and a beta of 1.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $56.94 and a 200-day moving average of $69.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a one year low of $50.21 and a one year high of $100.57.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 12.41%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Microchip Technology Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.455 per share. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. Microchip Technology’s payout ratio is presently 325.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MCHP. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 target price (down from $101.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Microchip Technology from $92.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Microchip Technology from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Microchip Technology in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on Microchip Technology from $85.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microchip Technology presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.11.

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.