Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) Stock Price Down 4.6% Following Insider Selling

Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP - Get Free Report) shares were down 4.6% on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $55.12 and last traded at $55.37. Approximately 2,210,249 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 8,552,172 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.05.

Specifically, Director Karlton D. Johnson sold 494 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.69, for a total transaction of $29,980.86. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,468 shares of the company's stock, valued at $210,472.92. This represents a 12.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCHP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Microchip Technology from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Bank of America upgraded Microchip Technology from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $56.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Microchip Technology from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Microchip Technology in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price 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 assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $67.42.

Microchip Technology Trading Down 0.8%

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 firm has a market capitalization of $31.37 billion, a PE ratio of 104.01 and a beta of 1.42. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $48.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.15.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The semiconductor company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.01. Microchip Technology had a net margin of 6.49% and a return on equity of 12.62%. 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 previous year, the company earned $0.57 earnings per share. Microchip Technology's quarterly revenue was down 26.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 1.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microchip Technology Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.455 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. Microchip Technology's payout ratio is -18,200.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microchip Technology

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCHP. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Microchip Technology during the fourth quarter worth about $452,627,000. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Microchip Technology in the 1st quarter worth approximately $369,612,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Microchip Technology by 63.0% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 16,707,031 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $808,787,000 after purchasing an additional 6,459,123 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microchip Technology by 138.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,834,550 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $427,681,000 after buying an additional 5,136,154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its position in Microchip Technology by 273.2% during the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 5,345,096 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $306,541,000 after buying an additional 3,912,895 shares in the last quarter. 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.