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

Shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and thirteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $84.00.

MCHP has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Microchip Technology from $72.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Microchip Technology from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. KeyCorp dropped their target price on Microchip Technology from $90.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, November 6th.

Microchip Technology Price Performance

Microchip Technology stock opened at $56.39 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $60.28 and a 200-day moving average of $72.63. Microchip Technology has a 52-week low of $54.47 and a 52-week high of $100.57. 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 market capitalization of $30.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.43 and a beta of 1.52.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.15 billion. Microchip Technology had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 14.22%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 48.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.54 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Microchip Technology will post 1.31 EPS for the current 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. This is a positive change from Microchip Technology’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. Microchip Technology’s dividend payout ratio is 127.27%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCHP. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Microchip Technology in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lifted its position in Microchip Technology by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 13,124 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $753,000 after purchasing an additional 1,607 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management boosted its stake in Microchip Technology by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 3,340 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $192,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its stake in shares of Microchip Technology by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 93,382 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,355,000 after purchasing an additional 5,610 shares during the period. Finally, Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. bought a new stake in shares of Microchip Technology during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $520,000. 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.