Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $49.92 and last traded at $51.26, with a volume of 2475038 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $51.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MCHP. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Microchip Technology in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Microchip Technology from $71.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of Microchip Technology from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.37.

Microchip Technology Stock Up 1.4 %

The company has a market capitalization of $27.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.36 and a beta of 1.52. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $56.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.13 earnings per share (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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microchip Technology Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 3,724 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,025,599.36. This represents a 10.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Microchip Technology

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mainstream Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microchip Technology during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 359 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microchip Technology in the third quarter valued at $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Microchip Technology in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Microchip Technology in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. 91.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.