Stephens Investment Management Group LLC Buys 164,254 Shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) by 31.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 685,455 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 164,254 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC’s holdings in Microchip Technology were worth $39,311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCHP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Microchip Technology during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microchip Technology during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Microchip Technology in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Microchip Technology during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microchip Technology by 55.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 613 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MCHP. StockNews.com upgraded Microchip Technology from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Microchip Technology from $92.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America lowered shares of Microchip Technology from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $80.00 to $65.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Microchip Technology from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price (down from $95.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microchip Technology currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.11.

Microchip Technology Trading Down 2.3 %

NASDAQ:MCHP opened at $51.89 on Friday. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a 52 week low of $50.21 and a 52 week high of $100.57. The stock has a market cap of $27.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 92.66 and a beta of 1.50. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $57.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.15). Microchip Technology had a return on equity of 12.41% and a net margin of 6.49%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microchip Technology Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a $0.455 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. Microchip Technology’s dividend payout ratio is presently 325.00%.

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.