Merit Financial Group LLC Boosts Stake in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) by 12.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,960 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 864 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Microchip Technology were worth $718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Microchip Technology in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Microchip Technology in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microchip Technology during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microchip Technology in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microchip Technology during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 91.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Microchip Technology

In other Microchip Technology news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 1,970 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.90, for a total transaction of $165,283.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,759,722.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Microchip Technology Trading Up 2.6 %

Microchip Technology stock opened at $93.76 on Tuesday. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a one year low of $68.75 and a one year high of $94.63. The stock has a market cap of $50.67 billion, a PE ratio of 21.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $88.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $85.25.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. Microchip Technology had a net margin of 27.59% and a return on equity of 45.59%. Microchip Technology’s revenue for the quarter was down 40.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.56 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 4.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microchip Technology Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.452 per share. This is an increase from Microchip Technology’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. Microchip Technology’s payout ratio is 42.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCHP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Microchip Technology from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Microchip Technology in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Microchip Technology from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Microchip Technology from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on Microchip Technology in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $106.00 price objective on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.25.

Microchip Technology Company Profile

Microchip Technology Incorporated develops, manufactures, and sells 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 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.