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

Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) shares gapped up before the market opened 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 traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MCHP. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Microchip Technology in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $106.00 price objective for the company. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Microchip Technology in a research note on Monday, April 8th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Microchip Technology from $105.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Microchip Technology in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, January 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.50.

Microchip Technology Stock Up 4.9 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market cap of $48.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.17, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.65. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $86.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.46.

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

Microchip Technology Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. This is a positive change from Microchip Technology’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Microchip Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microchip Technology

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microchip Technology

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Avitas Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Microchip Technology by 1.4% during the first quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,353 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,557,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management increased its stake in Microchip Technology by 2,083.9% in the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 62,875 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,641,000 after purchasing an additional 59,996 shares during the last quarter. Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Microchip Technology by 11.2% during the first quarter. Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 45,220 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,057,000 after acquiring an additional 4,549 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Microchip Technology by 13.7% during the first quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,697 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $332,000 after acquiring an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Muhlenkamp & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Microchip Technology by 4.6% in the first quarter. Muhlenkamp & Co. Inc. now owns 116,779 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $10,476,000 after buying an additional 5,144 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.51% of the company’s stock.

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.