Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Sells 5,714 Shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

Key Points

• Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI has reduced its stake in Microchip Technology by 51.5%, owning 5,391 shares valued at $261,000 after selling 5,714 shares in the first quarter.
• Microchip Technology reported earnings of $0.27 per share for the recently ended quarter, beating estimates and reporting a revenue of $1.08 billion, though down 13.3% compared to last year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.455 per share, with a yield of 2.9%, to be paid to shareholders of record on August 22nd, further solidifying its commitment to returning value to investors.

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI reduced its holdings in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP - Free Report) by 51.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,391 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 5,714 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's holdings in Microchip Technology were worth $261,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MCHP. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microchip Technology in the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microchip Technology in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microchip Technology in the 1st quarter worth $41,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Microchip Technology by 161.0% during the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 937 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares during the period. Finally, American National Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Microchip Technology during the 1st quarter worth about $48,000. 91.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microchip Technology Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:MCHP traded down $0.92 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $60.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,238,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,533,046. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a 52 week low of $34.13 and a 52 week high of $82.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The company has a market capitalization of $32.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -179.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.55. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $69.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.12.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The semiconductor company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.03. Microchip Technology had a negative net margin of 3.50% and a positive return on equity of 6.24%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.53 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 1.03 EPS for the current year.

Microchip Technology Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.455 per share. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 22nd. Microchip Technology's payout ratio is -535.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MCHP shares. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $66.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $70.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $69.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $65.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $76.58.

Insider Activity at Microchip Technology

In related news, Director Karlton D. Johnson sold 494 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.69, for a total transaction of $29,980.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,468 shares in the company, valued at $210,472.92. The trade was a 12.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 2,015 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,313 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,913,979.14. This trade represents a 5.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.94% of the company's stock.

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.