Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) Sets New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $57.94 and last traded at $58.94, with a volume of 1293893 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $59.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCHP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Microchip Technology from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Microchip Technology from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America lowered 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. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Microchip Technology from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price target on Microchip Technology from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Microchip Technology has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.63.

Microchip Technology Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.91 and a beta of 1.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $70.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.80.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last released 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 return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 14.22%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.54 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 48.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Microchip Technology Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.455 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This is a boost from Microchip Technology’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. Microchip Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 127.27%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microchip Technology

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microchip Technology by 3.3% during the second quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,147 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Corundum Group Inc. increased its holdings in Microchip Technology by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Corundum Group Inc. now owns 4,315 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI raised its position in Microchip Technology by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 3,470 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Busey Bank boosted its stake in Microchip Technology by 2.6% in the second quarter. Busey Bank now owns 6,006 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Advocates Investment Management grew its holdings in shares of Microchip Technology by 1.5% during the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 10,795 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $867,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. 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.