First Merchants Corp Sells 83,718 Shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

First Merchants Corp lowered its stake in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) by 79.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,981 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 83,718 shares during the period. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in Microchip Technology were worth $1,261,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Corundum Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Microchip Technology by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Corundum Group Inc. now owns 4,315 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $346,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management grew its holdings in Microchip Technology by 1.5% during the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 10,795 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $867,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Microchip Technology by 1.0% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 17,161 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,378,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Microchip Technology by 5.5% in the third quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 3,441 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $276,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Microchip Technology by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 3,499 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.51% of the company’s stock.

Microchip Technology Stock Performance

NASDAQ MCHP opened at $54.26 on Friday. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a twelve month low of $50.21 and a twelve month high of $100.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $29.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 96.89 and a beta of 1.50. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $56.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.14.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 6.49% and a return on equity of 12.41%. As a group, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.455 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. Microchip Technology’s dividend payout ratio is currently 325.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCHP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of Microchip Technology from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Microchip Technology in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Microchip Technology from $72.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $65.00 price target (down from $85.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Microchip Technology from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.11.

Microchip Technology 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.