Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) Hits New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $54.41 and last traded at $54.56, with a volume of 1141461 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $56.03.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MCHP shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Microchip Technology from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Microchip Technology from $92.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Microchip Technology from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. B. Riley cut their target price on Microchip Technology from $93.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.00.

Microchip Technology Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $59.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.34. The firm has a market cap of $29.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.97 and a beta of 1.52.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The semiconductor company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.15 billion. Microchip Technology had a net margin of 14.22% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 48.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.54 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microchip Technology Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.455 per share. This is a boost from Microchip Technology’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. Microchip Technology’s payout ratio is currently 127.27%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microchip Technology

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Microchip Technology by 9,901.6% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,857,654 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $163,886,000 after buying an additional 2,829,082 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Microchip Technology by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,347,643 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $264,430,000 after acquiring an additional 776,408 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 460,697 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DF Dent & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microchip Technology in the third quarter worth $27,744,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.