Rafferty Asset Management LLC Trims Position in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,505,641 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 91,304 shares during the quarter. Microchip Technology comprises 0.9% of Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Microchip Technology were worth $258,399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microchip Technology during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in Microchip Technology by 309.5% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 475 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Microchip Technology in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Microchip Technology in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Microchip Technology in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 91.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $65.00 target price (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Microchip Technology from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Microchip Technology from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $56.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong 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 $67.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 3,724 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.88, for a total value of $226,717.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 33,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,025,599.36. This trade represents a 10.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Microchip Technology Trading Down 2.6%

Microchip Technology stock opened at $60.65 on Thursday. 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 Incorporated has a one year low of $34.13 and a one year high of $100.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.67 billion, a PE ratio of 108.30 and a beta of 1.42. The business’s fifty day moving average is $47.18 and its 200 day moving average is $56.27.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The semiconductor company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.01. Microchip Technology had a return on equity of 12.62% and a net margin of 6.49%. The company had revenue of $970.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $962.86 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.57 earnings per share. Microchip Technology’s revenue was down 26.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 1.03 EPS for the current year.

Microchip Technology Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $0.455 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. Microchip Technology’s payout ratio is -18,200.00%.

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.