Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Thursday.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on MCHP. KeyCorp cut their target price on Microchip Technology from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Microchip Technology from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. B. Riley lowered their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $110.00 to $103.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut Microchip Technology from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 target price (down previously from $101.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and fourteen have given 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 $92.00.

Microchip Technology Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MCHP opened at $72.87 on Thursday. Microchip Technology has a one year low of $71.76 and a one year high of $100.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.96 and a beta of 1.53. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $76.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.98.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The semiconductor company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.54 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 48.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Microchip Technology will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microchip Technology Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a $0.455 dividend. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. This is a boost from Microchip Technology’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. Microchip Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 127.27%.

Insider Activity at Microchip Technology

In other Microchip Technology news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 2,154 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.50, for a total value of $175,551.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,257 shares in the company, valued at $2,710,445.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microchip Technology

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Microchip Technology by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,583,723 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,152,646,000 after acquiring an additional 1,921,497 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Microchip Technology by 0.4% during the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,246,403 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $846,046,000 after purchasing an additional 33,603 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Microchip Technology by 25.1% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,961,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $599,239,000 after purchasing an additional 1,597,263 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of Microchip Technology by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,591,471 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $681,838,000 after purchasing an additional 736,818 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Microchip Technology by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,527,709 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $406,182,000 after buying an additional 673,992 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.51% of the company’s stock.

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.