Ariston Services Group Has $270,000 Stock Holdings in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)

Ariston Services Group increased its stake in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) by 25.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,708 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 944 shares during the quarter. Ariston Services Group’s holdings in Microchip Technology were worth $270,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Microchip Technology by 39.3% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 11,093,007 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $636,184,000 after acquiring an additional 3,131,807 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Microchip Technology by 9,901.6% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,857,654 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $163,886,000 after purchasing an additional 2,829,082 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Microchip Technology by 30.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,347,643 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $264,430,000 after purchasing an additional 776,408 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in Microchip Technology by 20.1% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,751,987 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $220,957,000 after buying an additional 460,697 shares during the period. Finally, DF Dent & Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microchip Technology during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,744,000. 91.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 33,272 shares in the company, valued at $2,025,599.36. This trade represents a 10.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MCHP. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Microchip Technology from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective (down previously from $95.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Microchip Technology from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Microchip Technology from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Microchip Technology from $92.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microchip Technology has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.11.

Microchip Technology Price Performance

Microchip Technology stock opened at $57.95 on Tuesday. Microchip Technology Incorporated has a 52 week low of $50.21 and a 52 week high of $100.57. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $56.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.20. The stock has a market cap of $31.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 103.48 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

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

Microchip Technology Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.455 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. Microchip Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 325.00%.

Microchip Technology Company 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.