Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 695,485 Shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its holdings in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP - Free Report) by 18.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,082,601 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 695,485 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.57% of Microchip Technology worth $277,989,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Microchip Technology by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 46,155 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $4,162,000 after purchasing an additional 3,135 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Microchip Technology by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 25,815 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,328,000 after purchasing an additional 1,964 shares in the last quarter. STF Management LP increased its position in shares of Microchip Technology by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. STF Management LP now owns 9,256 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $835,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Microchip Technology by 76.6% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,043,484 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $184,251,000 after purchasing an additional 886,068 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in Microchip Technology by 82.6% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 11,284 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,018,000 after buying an additional 5,103 shares during the last quarter. 91.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Stephen V. Drehobl sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.88, for a total transaction of $908,800.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 82,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,470,608.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, VP Stephen V. Drehobl sold 7,830 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.06, for a total value of $744,319.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 79,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,558,125.54. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Stephen V. Drehobl sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.88, for a total value of $908,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 82,203 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,470,608.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,800 shares of company stock worth $1,818,403. 2.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Microchip Technology from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Microchip Technology from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Microchip Technology from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Citigroup upped their price target on Microchip Technology from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, B. Riley upped their price target on Microchip Technology from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Microchip Technology currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $99.39.

Microchip Technology Stock Up 3.9 %

NASDAQ MCHP traded up $3.71 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $99.49. 9,155,766 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,541,990. The company has a 50 day moving average of $89.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a 52-week low of $68.75 and a 52-week high of $99.69. The firm has a market cap of $53.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.67, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.60.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.57. Microchip Technology had a return on equity of 36.78% and a net margin of 24.98%. The company had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.56 EPS. Microchip Technology's revenue was down 40.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Microchip Technology Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $1.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. This is an increase from Microchip Technology's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Microchip Technology's dividend payout ratio is presently 51.87%.

Microchip Technology 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.