Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) Shares Sold by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC reduced its position in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) by 9.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,854 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 307 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Microchip Technology were worth $257,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MCHP. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Microchip Technology by 31.8% during the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,731 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,633,000 after purchasing an additional 5,237 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its stake in Microchip Technology by 292.9% in the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 44,324 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,331,000 after acquiring an additional 33,044 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in Microchip Technology by 4.1% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 29,572 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,259,000 after acquiring an additional 1,159 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Microchip Technology by 34.1% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,455 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its stake in Microchip Technology by 1,272.4% in the first quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 326,717 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $24,550,000 after acquiring an additional 302,910 shares during the last quarter. 91.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Microchip Technology from $97.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Microchip Technology from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Microchip Technology in a research note on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $106.00 target price for the company. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Microchip Technology from $105.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $94.00 price objective on shares of Microchip Technology in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.25.

Microchip Technology Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of MCHP stock opened at $85.93 on Wednesday. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a 52-week low of $68.75 and a 52-week high of $94.30. The stock has a market cap of $46.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $86.55 and a 200-day moving average of $84.24.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The semiconductor company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.04. Microchip Technology had a net margin of 27.59% and a return on equity of 45.59%. The company had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.48 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microchip Technology Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. 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 2.09%. This is a boost from Microchip Technology’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Microchip Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Karlton D. Johnson sold 370 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.00, for a total transaction of $31,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $150,276. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Microchip Technology news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 1,970 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.90, for a total transaction of $165,283.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 32,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,759,722.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Karlton D. Johnson sold 370 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.00, for a total transaction of $31,080.00. Following the sale, 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. 2.07% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.