Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and fourteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $89.63.

MCHP has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Microchip Technology from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America downgraded 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 report on Monday, December 16th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Microchip Technology from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Mizuho set a $95.00 target price on Microchip Technology in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Microchip Technology in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd.

Microchip Technology Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MCHP opened at $58.34 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $66.60 and its 200 day moving average is $77.20. Microchip Technology has a 12-month low of $55.27 and a 12-month high of $100.57. The stock has a market cap of $31.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.80 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

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

Microchip Technology Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a $0.455 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. 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 3.12%. Microchip Technology’s payout ratio is 127.27%.

Institutional Trading of Microchip Technology

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Microchip Technology by 0.4% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,246,403 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $846,046,000 after buying an additional 33,603 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,597,263 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Microchip Technology by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,455,317 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $407,660,000 after purchasing an additional 103,807 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 776,408 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Microchip Technology by 21.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,298,771 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $301,797,000 after purchasing an additional 575,087 shares in 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.