Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Has $2.96 Million Stock Position in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

Key Points

• Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its holdings in Microchip Technology by 8.7%, owning a total of 61,054 shares valued at approximately $2.96 million.
• Several institutional investors have also boosted their stakes in Microchip Technology, with Madison Asset Management increasing its investment by 15.2% to own about 1.58 million shares.
• Microchip Technology's average analyst rating is "Moderate Buy" with a consensus price target of $75.70, reflecting positive sentiment from research analysts following recent price target increases.

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its stake in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP - Free Report) by 8.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,054 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,907 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.'s holdings in Microchip Technology were worth $2,956,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Microchip Technology in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microchip Technology in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its stake in shares of Microchip Technology by 399.4% in the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 809 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microchip Technology in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Microchip Technology by 161.0% in the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 937 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares during the last quarter. 91.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on MCHP shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price 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. UBS Group upped their price objective on Microchip Technology from $65.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Bank of America raised Microchip Technology from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $56.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on Microchip Technology from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Microchip Technology in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $75.70.

Microchip Technology Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MCHP traded up $1.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $69.21. The company had a trading volume of 8,352,945 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,450,901. The stock has a market cap of $37.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6,921.00, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.52. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a 12 month low of $34.13 and a 12 month high of $89.59. 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's 50 day simple moving average is $67.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.38.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP - Get Free Report) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $970.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $962.86 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 26.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Microchip Technology Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd were issued a $0.455 dividend. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 22nd. Microchip Technology's payout ratio is -18,200.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 2,015 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.78, for a total value of $112,396.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 34,313 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,913,979.14. This trade 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 firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.69, for a total value of $29,980.86. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,468 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $210,472.92. This trade represents a 12.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.94% of the company's stock.

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.