Level Four Advisory Services LLC Buys 3,977 Shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

Level Four Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 67,598 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,977 shares during the quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Microchip Technology were worth $3,877,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Microchip Technology by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,052 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $878,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Microchip Technology by 1.8% during the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,725 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,182,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the period. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microchip Technology by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC now owns 3,894 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Microchip Technology by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. now owns 20,558 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,179,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its position in Microchip Technology by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 4,680 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. 91.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microchip Technology Price Performance

MCHP stock opened at $48.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 2.25. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.98. The company has a market capitalization of $26.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 86.96 and a beta of 1.52. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a 52-week low of $48.27 and a 52-week high of $100.57.

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

Microchip Technology Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $0.455 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. Microchip Technology’s dividend payout ratio is currently 325.00%.

Insider Activity at Microchip Technology

In related news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 3,724 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.88, for a total transaction of $226,717.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,025,599.36. This trade represents a 10.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCHP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Microchip Technology from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Microchip Technology from $72.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target (down from $95.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a report on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Microchip Technology from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of Microchip Technology from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.37.

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.