Sowell Financial Services LLC Purchases New Stake in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,564 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $318,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Microchip Technology during the fourth quarter worth approximately $452,627,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its holdings in Microchip Technology by 273.2% in the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 5,345,096 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $306,541,000 after purchasing an additional 3,912,895 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microchip Technology by 90.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,360,805 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $364,792,000 after acquiring an additional 3,013,162 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Group LP purchased a new stake in shares of Microchip Technology in the fourth quarter valued at $145,033,000. Finally, Fiduciary Management Inc. WI purchased a new stake in shares of Microchip Technology in the fourth quarter valued at $119,431,000. 91.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Karlton D. Johnson sold 494 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.69, for a total value of $29,980.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $210,472.92. This represents a 12.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 2,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.78, for a total transaction of $112,396.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 34,313 shares in the company, valued at $1,913,979.14. This represents a 5.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Microchip Technology Stock Performance

Shares of Microchip Technology stock opened at $68.97 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $55.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.96. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a 1-year low of $34.13 and a 1-year high of $96.98. The company has a market cap of $37.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -6,897.00, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.48.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The semiconductor company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.01. Microchip Technology had a positive return on equity of 8.55% and a negative net margin of 0.01%. The company had revenue of $970.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $962.86 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 1.03 EPS for the current year.

Microchip Technology Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd were paid a $0.455 dividend. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 22nd. Microchip Technology’s dividend payout ratio is presently -18,200.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCHP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Microchip Technology from $52.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Microchip Technology from $39.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Microchip Technology from $69.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $66.00 price target on shares of Microchip Technology in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, B. Riley lifted their target price on Microchip Technology from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microchip Technology presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.15.

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.