Lazard Asset Management LLC Reduces Stake in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

Lazard Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) by 91.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,176,154 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 12,611,431 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.22% of Microchip Technology worth $105,512,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MCHP. IFG Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Microchip Technology during the fourth quarter valued at $204,000. Planned Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microchip Technology in the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Microchip Technology by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 14,557 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,313,000 after acquiring an additional 635 shares in the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microchip Technology in the fourth quarter valued at about $62,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microchip Technology by 75.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,821 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $164,000 after acquiring an additional 783 shares in the last quarter. 91.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microchip Technology Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ MCHP traded up $1.80 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $86.83. The stock had a trading volume of 5,590,310 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,836,401. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market cap of $46.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.02 and a beta of 1.54. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $92.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.45. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a 52-week low of $68.75 and a 52-week high of $100.57.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.33 billion. Microchip Technology had a return on equity of 36.78% and a net margin of 24.98%. Microchip Technology’s quarterly revenue was down 40.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.56 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microchip Technology Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.452 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $1.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. This is a positive change from Microchip Technology’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Microchip Technology’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microchip Technology news, Director Matthew W. Chapman sold 2,748 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.88, for a total transaction of $257,982.24. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 35,682 shares in the company, valued at $3,349,826.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP Stephen V. Drehobl sold 7,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.06, for a total transaction of $744,319.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 79,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,558,125.54. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Matthew W. Chapman sold 2,748 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.88, for a total value of $257,982.24. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,682 shares in the company, valued at $3,349,826.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,993 shares of company stock worth $2,251,857 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on MCHP. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Microchip Technology from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Microchip Technology from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Evercore ISI began coverage on Microchip Technology in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $106.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Microchip Technology from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Microchip Technology from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microchip Technology presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.17.

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.