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

Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $84.00.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MCHP. Citigroup decreased their target price on Microchip Technology from $92.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Microchip Technology from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Microchip Technology from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Microchip Technology in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Microchip Technology from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microchip Technology

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MCHP. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in 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 worth $163,886,000 after purchasing an additional 2,829,082 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in Microchip Technology by 2,390.5% in the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,291,290 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $209,653,000 after acquiring an additional 2,199,290 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Microchip Technology by 25.1% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,961,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $599,239,000 after purchasing an additional 1,597,263 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Microchip Technology by 78.3% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,189,390 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $200,329,000 after buying an additional 961,801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake 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 valued at $264,430,000 after acquiring an additional 776,408 shares in the last quarter. 91.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microchip Technology Stock Performance

Shares of MCHP opened at $56.39 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.28 billion, a PE ratio of 39.43 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $60.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.63. Microchip Technology has a 52-week low of $54.47 and a 52-week high of $100.57.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The semiconductor company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 was down 48.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.54 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microchip Technology will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microchip Technology Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a $0.455 dividend. This is an increase from Microchip Technology’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. Microchip Technology’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.