Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Has $13 Million Stock Holdings in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP - Free Report) by 2,005.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 144,104 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 137,261 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Microchip Technology were worth $12,995,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCHP. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microchip Technology by 31.8% during the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,731 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,633,000 after buying an additional 5,237 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microchip Technology by 292.9% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 44,324 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $3,331,000 after buying an additional 33,044 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Microchip Technology by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 29,572 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,259,000 after buying an additional 1,159 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its holdings in Microchip Technology by 1,272.4% in the 1st quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 326,717 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $24,550,000 after purchasing an additional 302,910 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Microchip Technology by 48.2% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 569 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MCHP shares. Wolfe Research upgraded Microchip Technology from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Microchip Technology in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a "buy" rating and issued a $94.00 price objective on shares of Microchip Technology in a report on Thursday, March 14th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Microchip Technology from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Microchip Technology from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microchip Technology currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $91.33.

Microchip Technology Trading Down 3.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MCHP traded down $3.58 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $88.09. 4,508,186 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,612,810. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $86.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $47.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.65. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $68.75 and a fifty-two week high of $94.30.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The semiconductor company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.04. Microchip Technology had a return on equity of 45.59% and a net margin of 27.59%. The company had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.77 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.48 EPS. Microchip Technology's revenue for the quarter was down 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 4.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microchip Technology Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This is a boost from Microchip Technology's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Microchip Technology's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.06%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 1,970 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.90, for a total transaction of $165,283.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 32,893 shares in the company, valued at $2,759,722.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Microchip Technology news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 1,970 shares of Microchip Technology stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.90, for a total transaction of $165,283.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 32,893 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,759,722.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Karlton D. Johnson sold 370 shares of Microchip Technology stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.00, for a total value of $31,080.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $150,276. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.07% of the company's stock.

About Microchip Technology

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.