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

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC cut its stake in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) by 91.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,950 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 281,334 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Microchip Technology were worth $1,546,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in 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. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Microchip Technology by 30.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,347,643 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $264,430,000 after purchasing an additional 776,408 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Microchip Technology by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,143,769 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $180,295,000 after purchasing an additional 116,823 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake 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 worth $163,886,000 after purchasing an additional 2,829,082 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in Microchip Technology by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,751,987 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $220,957,000 after purchasing an additional 460,697 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 3,724 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.88, for a total value of $226,717.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 33,272 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,025,599.36. This represents a 10.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $71.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Microchip Technology in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Microchip Technology from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (down from $85.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Microchip Technology from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microchip Technology currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.37.

Microchip Technology Stock Up 3.1 %

MCHP stock opened at $53.50 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $56.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 95.54 and a beta of 1.52. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $50.21 and a fifty-two week high of $100.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 2.25.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last announced 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 net margin of 6.49% and a return on equity of 12.62%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 1.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microchip Technology Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.455 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Microchip Technology’s dividend payout ratio is currently 325.00%.

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.