AXQ Capital LP Grows Stake in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

AXQ Capital LP lifted its stake in shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) by 68.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,616 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 1,875 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP’s holdings in Microchip Technology were worth $265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microchip Technology during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Microchip Technology during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Microchip Technology during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microchip Technology during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on MCHP shares. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Microchip Technology from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Microchip Technology in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective (down previously from $95.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Microchip Technology from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microchip Technology currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.37.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microchip Technology news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 3,724 shares of the 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 directly owns 33,272 shares in the company, valued at $2,025,599.36. This represents a 10.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Microchip Technology Stock Performance

Shares of MCHP stock opened at $51.72 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $56.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 2.25. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a one year low of $49.92 and a one year high of $100.57. The firm has a market cap of $27.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.36 and a beta of 1.52.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.13 EPS 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 1.03 EPS for the current year.

Microchip Technology Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $0.455 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. Microchip Technology’s dividend payout ratio is currently 325.00%.

About Microchip Technology

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.