Commerce Bank Sells 67,758 Shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

Key Points

• Commerce Bank reduced its holdings in Microchip Technology by 41.6%, selling 67,758 shares and leaving it with 95,059 shares worth approximately $4.6 million at the end of the latest quarter.
• Multiple investors, including Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC and Meritage Group LP, significantly increased their stakes in Microchip Technology during the fourth quarter, highlighting a strong interest in the stock among institutional investors.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Microchip Technology shares, with a consensus target price of $74.42 and an overall rating of "Moderate Buy".

Commerce Bank decreased its position in shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP - Free Report) by 41.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 95,059 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 67,758 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank's holdings in Microchip Technology were worth $4,602,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MCHP. World Investment Advisors raised its stake in Microchip Technology by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 44,047 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,526,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165 shares in the last quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC acquired a new position in Microchip Technology during the fourth quarter worth about $313,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Microchip Technology during the fourth quarter worth about $8,908,000. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Microchip Technology by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,231 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Microchip Technology by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,511,663 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $201,394,000 after acquiring an additional 309,193 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Mizuho boosted their target price on Microchip Technology from $78.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on shares of Microchip Technology from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Microchip Technology from $39.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Microchip Technology in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Microchip Technology from $70.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Six equities research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.42.

Microchip Technology Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MCHP traded up $0.67 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $66.84. 1,500,769 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,408,123. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6,666.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.55. 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 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $69.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.96.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The semiconductor company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $962.86 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.57 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 26.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 1.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Microchip Technology

In other news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 2,015 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.78, for a total transaction of $112,396.70. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,313 shares in the company, valued at $1,913,979.14. This represents a 5.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Karlton D. Johnson sold 494 shares of the company's 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 sale, the director owned 3,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $210,472.92. This represents a 12.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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.