Microchip Technology Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:MCHP)

Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 16,476 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 52% compared to the typical volume of 10,867 call options.

Institutional Trading of Microchip Technology

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its stake in Microchip Technology by 1.5% in the third quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 10,795 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $867,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its position in Microchip Technology by 1.0% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 17,161 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,378,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC grew its position in Microchip Technology by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 3,441 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $276,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Microchip Technology by 5.8% during the third quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 3,499 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Global Investments increased its position in Microchip Technology by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 8,463 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $679,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.51% of the company’s stock.

Microchip Technology Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of MCHP opened at $64.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The company has a market capitalization of $34.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 114.82 and a beta of 1.50. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.19. Microchip Technology has a one year low of $50.21 and a one year high of $100.57.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.15). Microchip Technology had a net margin of 6.49% and a return on equity of 12.62%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Microchip Technology will post 1.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microchip Technology Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be given a dividend of $0.455 per share. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. Microchip Technology’s dividend payout ratio is 325.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on MCHP shares. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price target (down previously from $101.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Microchip Technology in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Microchip Technology from $71.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on Microchip Technology from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microchip Technology currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.11.

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.