Proficio Capital Partners LLC Invests $3.82 Million in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 66,577 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,818,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCHP. Mainstream Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microchip Technology in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Alley Investment Management Company LLC increased its holdings in Microchip Technology by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 185,306 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $10,627,000 after buying an additional 12,398 shares during the last quarter. Ariston Services Group raised its stake in Microchip Technology by 25.1% during the fourth quarter. Ariston Services Group now owns 4,708 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 944 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI raised its stake in Microchip Technology by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 13,422 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $767,000 after buying an additional 2,505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Microchip Technology by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,143,769 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $180,295,000 after buying an additional 116,823 shares during the last quarter. 91.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MCHP shares. TD Cowen upped their price target on Microchip Technology from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Microchip Technology from $72.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Microchip Technology in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Bank of America lowered shares of Microchip Technology from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 target price (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.37.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 3,724 shares of Microchip Technology stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.88, for a total transaction of $226,717.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,272 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,025,599.36. This trade represents a 10.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microchip Technology Trading Up 3.3 %

NASDAQ:MCHP opened at $55.26 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $29.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 98.68 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 2.25. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a 1 year low of $50.21 and a 1 year high of $100.57. The business has a fifty day moving average of $56.45 and a 200-day moving average of $65.40.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last announced 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 net margin of 6.49% and a return on equity of 12.62%. Equities analysts predict that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Microchip Technology Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.455 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. Microchip Technology’s payout ratio is 325.00%.

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.