Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Evercore ISI Analyst Says

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP - Free Report) had its price target increased by Evercore ISI from $69.00 to $83.00 in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the semiconductor company's stock.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $66.00 target price on shares of Microchip Technology in a research report on Friday, May 9th. B. Riley boosted their price target on Microchip Technology from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Microchip Technology from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America upgraded Microchip Technology from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $56.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Microchip Technology from $39.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Microchip Technology currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $69.53.

Microchip Technology Trading Down 2.4%

NASDAQ:MCHP traded down $1.67 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $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 one year low of $34.13 and a one year high of $96.98. The company has a market capitalization of $36.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 121.30 and a beta of 1.48. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $51.57 and a 200 day moving average of $55.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The semiconductor company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $962.86 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. Microchip Technology's revenue was down 26.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Microchip Technology will post 1.03 EPS for the current year.

Microchip Technology Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd were given a dividend of $0.455 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. Microchip Technology's dividend payout ratio is currently -18,200.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microchip Technology news, Director Karlton D. Johnson sold 494 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.69, for a total transaction of $29,980.86. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,468 shares in the company, valued at approximately $210,472.92. This represents a 12.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 2,015 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.78, for a total value of $112,396.70. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 34,313 shares in the company, valued at $1,913,979.14. This represents 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

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MCHP. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Microchip Technology during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $452,627,000. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Microchip Technology during the first quarter valued at approximately $369,612,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Microchip Technology by 63.0% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 16,707,031 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $808,787,000 after acquiring an additional 6,459,123 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Microchip Technology by 138.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,834,550 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $427,681,000 after acquiring an additional 5,136,154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microchip Technology by 273.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 3,912,895 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.51% of the company's stock.

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.