Evercore ISI Boosts Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) Price Target to $71.00

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) had its price target lifted by Evercore ISI from $65.00 to $71.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Microchip Technology from $72.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target (down from $95.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Microchip Technology from $92.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Microchip Technology from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.37.

Microchip Technology Stock Performance

Shares of MCHP stock opened at $58.26 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $56.95 and a 200-day moving average of $66.93. Microchip Technology has a 52 week low of $50.21 and a 52 week high of $100.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company has a market cap of $31.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 104.04 and a beta of 1.52.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.15). Microchip Technology had a net margin of 6.49% and a return on equity of 12.62%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Microchip Technology will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Microchip Technology Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be given a $0.455 dividend. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. Microchip Technology’s dividend payout ratio is currently 325.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microchip Technology news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 3,724 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.88, for a total value of $226,717.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,025,599.36. This trade represents a 10.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Microchip Technology

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MCHP. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Microchip Technology in the fourth quarter worth $452,627,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its position in shares of Microchip Technology by 273.2% in the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 5,345,096 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $306,541,000 after purchasing an additional 3,912,895 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Microchip Technology by 39.3% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 11,093,007 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $636,184,000 after purchasing an additional 3,131,807 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Microchip Technology by 90.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,360,805 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $364,792,000 after purchasing an additional 3,013,162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Microchip Technology by 9,901.6% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,857,654 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $163,886,000 after purchasing an additional 2,829,082 shares in the last quarter. 91.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Microchip Technology Company Profile

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.