Van ECK Associates Corp Purchases 714,376 Shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) by 16.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,177,014 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 714,376 shares during the period. Microchip Technology comprises 0.8% of Van ECK Associates Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Microchip Technology were worth $466,863,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microchip Technology in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microchip Technology during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microchip Technology during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Microchip Technology in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Microchip Technology during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 91.51% of the company’s stock.

Microchip Technology Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ MCHP traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $93.18. The stock had a trading volume of 6,106,081 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,566,188. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $68.75 and a fifty-two week high of $94.63. The firm has a market cap of $50.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.65. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $87.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.70.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The semiconductor company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.04. Microchip Technology had a return on equity of 45.59% and a net margin of 27.59%. The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.48 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 4.64 EPS for the current year.

Microchip Technology Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a boost from Microchip Technology’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. Microchip Technology’s payout ratio is presently 42.06%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 1,970 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.90, for a total value of $165,283.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 32,893 shares in the company, valued at $2,759,722.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Microchip Technology news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 1,970 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.90, for a total value of $165,283.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 32,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,759,722.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Karlton D. Johnson sold 370 shares of Microchip Technology stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.00, for a total transaction of $31,080.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,789 shares in the company, valued at $150,276. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MCHP shares. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Microchip Technology from $105.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Microchip Technology in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $106.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research raised shares of Microchip Technology from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Microchip Technology from $87.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Microchip Technology in a report on Monday, April 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.50.

Microchip Technology Profile

Microchip Technology Incorporated develops, manufactures, and sells 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 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.