Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) Receives “Outperform” Rating from Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI reissued their outperform rating on shares of Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $95.00 price target on the semiconductor company’s stock, down from their previous price target of $101.00.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup cut their price objective on Microchip Technology from $104.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Microchip Technology from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. B. Riley lowered their price target on Microchip Technology from $110.00 to $103.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley downgraded Microchip Technology from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $102.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Bank of America cut Microchip Technology from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.00.

Microchip Technology Stock Down 2.0 %

MCHP traded down $1.47 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $72.87. 6,290,308 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,325,453. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Microchip Technology has a fifty-two week low of $71.76 and a fifty-two week high of $100.57. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $76.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.98. The stock has a market cap of $39.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.96 and a beta of 1.53.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The semiconductor company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.54 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 48.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Microchip Technology will post 1.73 EPS for the current year.

Microchip Technology Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.455 per share. This is a positive change from Microchip Technology’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. Microchip Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 127.27%.

Insider Transactions at Microchip Technology

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microchip Technology

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Microchip Technology during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Microchip Technology during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Microchip Technology in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Microchip Technology by 148.8% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 530 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its holdings in Microchip Technology by 55.2% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 613 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. 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.