Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) Sets New 12-Month Low After Analyst Downgrade

Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday after Mizuho lowered their price target on the stock from $85.00 to $72.00. Mizuho currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Microchip Technology traded as low as $54.81 and last traded at $54.98, with a volume of 493847 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.38.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Microchip Technology from $72.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial downgraded shares of Microchip Technology from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $80.00 in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Microchip Technology in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price target (down from $101.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on Microchip Technology from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.11.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Microchip Technology during the 2nd quarter worth about $788,000. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Microchip Technology by 15.3% during the second quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 370,233 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $33,876,000 after purchasing an additional 49,139 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in shares of Microchip Technology by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 12,034 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,101,000 after purchasing an additional 779 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Microchip Technology by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 3,874 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Microchip Technology by 42.5% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 14,234 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,302,000 after buying an additional 4,245 shares during the period. 91.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microchip Technology Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $62.84 and a 200 day moving average of $74.91. The firm has a market cap of $29.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.59 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.88.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The semiconductor company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.03. Microchip Technology had a return on equity of 19.47% and a net margin of 14.22%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.15 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.54 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 48.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 1.33 EPS for the current year.

Microchip Technology Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.455 per share. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. This is a boost from Microchip Technology’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. Microchip Technology’s dividend payout ratio is currently 127.27%.

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.