First Trust Advisors LP Purchases 206,672 Shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,068,828 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 206,672 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.57% of Microchip Technology worth $175,997,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Microchip Technology Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MCHP opened at $38.53 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $20.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.81 and a beta of 1.51. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a one year low of $34.13 and a one year high of $100.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $50.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.61. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.13 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%. Analysts anticipate that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 1.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microchip Technology Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.455 per share. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Microchip Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 325.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microchip Technology news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 3,724 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 33,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,025,599.36. This represents a 10.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCHP has been the topic of several research reports. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Microchip Technology in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com downgraded Microchip Technology from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Microchip Technology from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Microchip Technology from $71.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microchip Technology currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.26.

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.