Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the nineteen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation, thirteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $77.11.

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup reduced their price target on Microchip Technology from $92.00 to $82.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Microchip Technology from $71.00 to $58.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Microchip Technology from $72.00 to $63.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Microchip Technology from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Microchip Technology from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th.

Microchip Technology Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of MCHP stock traded up $1.50 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $55.76. The stock had a trading volume of 7,122,783 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,621,112. Microchip Technology has a 12-month low of $50.21 and a 12-month high of $100.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 99.57 and a beta of 1.50. The firm's 50-day moving average is $56.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.15). Microchip Technology had a return on equity of 12.41% and a net margin of 6.49%. On average, analysts predict that Microchip Technology will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microchip Technology Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a $0.455 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. Microchip Technology's payout ratio is 325.00%.

Institutional Trading of Microchip Technology

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Microchip Technology by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,912,345 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $3,952,123,000 after purchasing an additional 569,699 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Microchip Technology by 39.3% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 11,093,007 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $636,184,000 after purchasing an additional 3,131,807 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Microchip Technology by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,247,908 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $587,718,000 after purchasing an additional 890,819 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Microchip Technology during the fourth quarter worth approximately $452,627,000. Finally, FIL Ltd boosted its position in Microchip Technology by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 7,877,482 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $451,774,000 after purchasing an additional 653,705 shares in 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.