Cullen Investment Group LTD. Invests $263,000 in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

Cullen Investment Group LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,914 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $263,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Microchip Technology by 31.8% in 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. grew its stake in Microchip Technology by 292.9% in 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. grew its stake in Microchip Technology by 4.1% in 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. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Microchip Technology by 34.1% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,455 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $335,000 after buying an additional 1,133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its stake 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 buying an additional 302,910 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Microchip Technology from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Microchip Technology in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Wolfe Research raised shares of Microchip Technology from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $94.00 price target on shares of Microchip Technology in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microchip Technology presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.25.

Microchip Technology Stock Performance

NASDAQ MCHP opened at $85.70 on Tuesday. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a 52-week low of $68.75 and a 52-week high of $94.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $46.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a fifty day moving average of $86.49 and a 200-day moving average of $84.18.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The semiconductor company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.77 billion. Microchip Technology had a net margin of 27.59% and a return on equity of 45.59%. The firm’s revenue was down 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.48 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 4.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microchip Technology Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. 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%.

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.