Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) Reaches New 1-Year Low on Analyst Downgrade

Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday after Mizuho lowered their price target on the stock from $85.00 to $72.00. Mizuho currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Microchip Technology traded as low as $54.81 and last traded at $54.98, with a volume of 493847 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $56.38.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on MCHP. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Microchip Technology from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America lowered Microchip Technology from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $80.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Microchip Technology from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Microchip Technology in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $92.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microchip Technology has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.11.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microchip Technology

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MCHP. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Microchip Technology during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Microchip Technology during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Microchip Technology during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its stake in shares of Microchip Technology by 55.2% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 613 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Microchip Technology by 390.6% in the third quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 628 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.51% of the company’s stock.

Microchip Technology Trading Down 2.1 %

The company has a fifty day moving average of $62.84 and a 200-day moving average of $74.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.64 billion, a PE ratio of 38.59 and a beta of 1.52.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The semiconductor company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.03. Microchip Technology had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 14.22%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.15 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.54 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 48.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microchip Technology Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.455 per share. This is a positive change from Microchip Technology’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Microchip Technology’s dividend payout ratio is 127.27%.

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.