Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Has $1.05 Million Stock Holdings in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. cut its position in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 18,226 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 539 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Microchip Technology were worth $1,045,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its holdings in Microchip Technology by 1.0% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 17,161 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,378,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in Microchip Technology by 5.8% in the third quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 3,499 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Microchip Technology by 0.8% in the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,475 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,126,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Microchip Technology by 7.3% in the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,470 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Microchip Technology by 2.4% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,052 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $878,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. 91.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Microchip Technology from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Microchip Technology from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of Microchip Technology from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Microchip Technology from $72.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Microchip Technology from $71.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microchip Technology has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.37.

Microchip Technology Stock Performance

Shares of MCHP opened at $51.90 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $56.69 and a 200-day moving average of $66.07. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a one year low of $50.21 and a one year high of $100.57. The company has a market cap of $27.91 billion, a PE ratio of 92.68 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Microchip Technology Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $0.455 dividend. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Microchip Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 325.00%.

Insider Activity

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

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.