Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Grows Holdings in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its position in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 107,933 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,100 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Microchip Technology were worth $6,190,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Advocates Investment Management increased its stake in Microchip Technology by 1.5% in the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 10,795 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $867,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its stake in Microchip Technology by 1.0% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 17,161 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,378,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Microchip Technology by 5.5% during the third quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 3,441 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of Microchip Technology by 5.8% during the third quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 3,499 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Global Investments increased its stake in shares of Microchip Technology by 2.5% during the third quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 8,463 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $679,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the period. 91.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MCHP shares. B. Riley restated 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. Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target (down previously from $95.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America lowered Microchip Technology from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $80.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Microchip Technology from $85.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Microchip Technology from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.11.

Microchip Technology Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MCHP opened at $60.83 on Tuesday. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a 12-month low of $50.21 and a 12-month high of $100.57. The company has a market capitalization of $32.72 billion, a PE ratio of 108.63 and a beta of 1.50. The business has a 50 day moving average of $56.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.13 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 1.03 EPS for the current year.

Microchip Technology Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be given a $0.455 dividend. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. Microchip Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.