Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Sells 12,959 Shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 280,911 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 12,959 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Microchip Technology worth $25,333,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Microchip Technology in the 4th quarter worth about $412,120,000. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC bought a new stake in Microchip Technology in the 3rd quarter worth about $225,800,000. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its position in Microchip Technology by 98.5% in the 1st quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 2,056,405 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $154,518,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020,624 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in Microchip Technology by 122.1% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,529,186 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $119,353,000 after purchasing an additional 840,526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virginia Retirement Systems ET AL bought a new stake in Microchip Technology in the 2nd quarter worth about $69,092,000. 91.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Microchip Technology Stock Performance

NASDAQ MCHP opened at $89.19 on Thursday. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a 1 year low of $68.75 and a 1 year high of $94.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.20 billion, a PE ratio of 20.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.65. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $86.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.13.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The semiconductor company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.77 billion. Microchip Technology had a net margin of 27.59% and a return on equity of 45.59%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.48 EPS. Analysts predict that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microchip Technology Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.45 dividend. This is a positive change from Microchip Technology’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Microchip Technology’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.06%.

Insider Transactions at Microchip Technology

In related news, Director Karlton D. Johnson sold 370 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.00, for a total transaction of $31,080.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $150,276. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 1,970 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.90, for a total transaction of $165,283.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 32,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,759,722.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Karlton D. Johnson sold 370 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.00, for a total transaction of $31,080.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $150,276. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MCHP shares. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Microchip Technology from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Microchip Technology from $87.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $94.00 target price on shares of Microchip Technology in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Piper Sandler cut shares of Microchip Technology from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Microchip Technology in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.33.

About Microchip Technology

Microchip Technology Incorporated develops, manufactures, and sells 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 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.