Prudential Financial Inc. Cuts Position in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

Prudential Financial Inc. lowered its position in shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) by 24.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 286,868 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 91,157 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Microchip Technology were worth $16,452,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in Microchip Technology during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microchip Technology during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in Microchip Technology by 309.5% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 475 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Microchip Technology in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Microchip Technology in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.51% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 3,724 shares of the company’s 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Microchip Technology Trading Down 2.6 %

Microchip Technology stock opened at $50.79 on Friday. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a 1 year low of $49.92 and a 1 year high of $100.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $55.83 and its 200-day moving average is $64.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 2.25. The company has a market cap of $27.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 90.70 and a beta of 1.52.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.15). Microchip Technology had a return on equity of 12.62% and a net margin of 6.49%. On average, equities analysts expect that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Microchip Technology Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $0.455 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. Microchip Technology’s payout ratio is currently 325.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MCHP shares. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 target price (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a research report on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Microchip Technology from $72.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price 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. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Microchip Technology from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $65.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.37.

Microchip Technology Company Profile

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.