Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) Stock

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP - Free Report) had its price target increased by Citigroup from $55.00 to $68.00 in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the semiconductor company's stock.

MCHP has been the subject of a number of other reports. Raymond James increased their price objective on Microchip Technology from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Microchip Technology from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, June 7th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Microchip Technology from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Microchip Technology from $35.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Microchip Technology from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $56.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Microchip Technology has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.53.

Microchip Technology Price Performance

Shares of MCHP traded down $1.67 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $67.93. The stock had a trading volume of 7,699,552 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,764,311. Microchip Technology has a 12 month low of $34.13 and a 12 month high of $96.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.64 billion, a PE ratio of 121.30 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 2.25. The company's 50-day moving average is $51.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.02.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The semiconductor company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.01. Microchip Technology had a return on equity of 12.62% and a net margin of 6.49%. The company had revenue of $970.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $962.86 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.57 EPS. Microchip Technology's revenue was down 26.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Microchip Technology will post 1.03 EPS for the current year.

Microchip Technology Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd were paid a $0.455 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Microchip Technology's dividend payout ratio is presently -18,200.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Karlton D. Johnson sold 494 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.69, for a total value of $29,980.86. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,468 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $210,472.92. This trade represents a 12.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 2,015 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.78, for a total transaction of $112,396.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,913,979.14. The trade was a 5.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microchip Technology

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCHP. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its position in Microchip Technology by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 4,680 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in Microchip Technology by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 66,680 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $3,824,000 after acquiring an additional 7,780 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in Microchip Technology by 68.3% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 12,081 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $693,000 after acquiring an additional 4,903 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC lifted its position in Microchip Technology by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 6,158 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $353,000 after acquiring an additional 636 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Four Tree Island Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Microchip Technology during the 4th quarter worth approximately $385,000. 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.