Norges Bank Takes $452.63 Million Position in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 7,892,368 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $452,627,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCHP. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microchip Technology in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Microchip Technology by 309.5% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 475 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Microchip Technology in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Microchip Technology during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microchip Technology during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 91.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCHP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America downgraded Microchip Technology from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 price target (down from $85.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $71.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Microchip Technology in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price (down from $95.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.37.

Insider Activity

In other Microchip Technology news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 3,724 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.88, for a total transaction of $226,717.12. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 33,272 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,025,599.36. This trade represents a 10.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Microchip Technology Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MCHP opened at $48.70 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $55.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.19 billion, a PE ratio of 86.96 and a beta of 1.52. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a twelve month low of $48.27 and a twelve month high of $100.57.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.15). Microchip Technology had a return on equity of 12.62% and a net margin of 6.49%. Equities research analysts expect that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 1.03 EPS for the current year.

Microchip Technology Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.455 dividend. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Microchip Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 325.00%.

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.