Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $74.37.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MCHP. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Microchip Technology in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective (down from $95.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America cut Microchip Technology from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Microchip Technology from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Microchip Technology from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th.

Microchip Technology Stock Performance

Microchip Technology stock opened at $59.77 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 2.25. The stock has a market cap of $32.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 106.73 and a beta of 1.52. Microchip Technology has a fifty-two week low of $50.21 and a fifty-two week high of $100.57.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.15). Microchip Technology had a net margin of 6.49% and a return on equity of 12.62%. As a group, analysts expect that Microchip Technology will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microchip Technology Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.455 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. Microchip Technology’s dividend payout ratio is presently 325.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microchip Technology news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 3,724 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.88, for a total value of $226,717.12. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCHP. Summit Global Investments boosted its stake in Microchip Technology by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 8,463 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $679,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. United Bank boosted its position in shares of Microchip Technology by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 9,871 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $793,000 after acquiring an additional 1,712 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Microchip Technology during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $449,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Microchip Technology by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 331,752 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $26,636,000 after acquiring an additional 16,649 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Microchip Technology by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,190 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $658,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. 91.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.