Virtu Financial LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

Virtu Financial LLC lessened its stake in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) by 12.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 784 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Microchip Technology were worth $306,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Microchip Technology by 39.3% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 11,093,007 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $636,184,000 after buying an additional 3,131,807 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Microchip Technology by 9,901.6% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,857,654 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $163,886,000 after acquiring an additional 2,829,082 shares during the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Microchip Technology in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $78,661,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Microchip Technology by 30.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,347,643 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $264,430,000 after purchasing an additional 776,408 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DF Dent & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microchip Technology during the third quarter worth $27,744,000. 91.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microchip Technology news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 3,724 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.88, for a total value of $226,717.12. Following 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Microchip Technology from $71.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Microchip Technology from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Microchip Technology from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microchip Technology has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.37.

Microchip Technology Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of MCHP opened at $50.79 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $55.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company has a market capitalization of $27.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.70 and a beta of 1.52. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a 52 week low of $49.92 and a 52 week high of $100.57.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.15). Microchip Technology had a return on equity of 12.62% and a net margin of 6.49%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 1.03 EPS for the current year.

Microchip Technology Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $0.455 dividend. 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 3.58%. Microchip Technology’s payout ratio is 325.00%.

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.