Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) Shares Gap Up to $86.19

Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $86.19, but opened at $90.79. Microchip Technology shares last traded at $91.01, with a volume of 1,153,804 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MCHP. StockNews.com cut Microchip Technology from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 29th. Evercore ISI started coverage on Microchip Technology in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $106.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded Microchip Technology from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Microchip Technology in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on Microchip Technology from $97.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.50.

Microchip Technology Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $87.00 and a 200-day moving average of $84.55. The stock has a market cap of $49.83 billion, a PE ratio of 21.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.65.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The semiconductor company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.04. Microchip Technology had a return on equity of 45.59% and a net margin of 27.59%. The company had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.48 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 4.64 EPS for the current year.

Microchip Technology Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. This is a positive change from Microchip Technology’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Microchip Technology’s payout ratio is currently 42.06%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Karlton D. Johnson sold 370 shares of Microchip Technology stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.00, for a total transaction of $31,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $150,276. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Karlton D. Johnson sold 370 shares of Microchip Technology stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.00, for a total transaction of $31,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $150,276. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 1,970 shares of Microchip Technology stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.90, for a total transaction of $165,283.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 32,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,759,722.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.07% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microchip Technology during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Microchip Technology during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microchip Technology during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microchip Technology during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Microchip Technology during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. 91.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Microchip Technology

Microchip Technology Incorporated develops, manufactures, and sells 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 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.