Sterling Capital Management LLC Grows Holdings in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) by 13.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,686,950 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 197,709 shares during the period. Microchip Technology makes up about 1.3% of Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Sterling Capital Management LLC owned about 0.31% of Microchip Technology worth $96,747,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MCHP. Coign Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microchip Technology in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $532,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Microchip Technology by 346.3% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,455 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 1,129 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microchip Technology by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 4,176 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $239,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in Microchip Technology during the 4th quarter worth $292,000. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. increased its holdings in Microchip Technology by 780.3% during the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 315,870 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $17,494,000 after purchasing an additional 279,989 shares during the period. 91.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microchip Technology Stock Performance

Shares of MCHP stock opened at $38.81 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.29. The company has a market cap of $20.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.30 and a beta of 1.51. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a 12-month low of $34.13 and a 12-month high of $100.57.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 forecast that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 1.03 EPS for the current year.

Microchip Technology Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.455 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.69%. Microchip Technology’s payout ratio is currently 325.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCHP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Microchip Technology in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Microchip Technology from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 target price (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price target (down from $95.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Microchip Technology from $71.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.37.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microchip Technology

In other news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 3,724 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.88, for a total value of $226,717.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 33,272 shares in the company, valued at $2,025,599.36. This trade represents a 10.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.