Traders Purchase High Volume of Microchip Technology Put Options (NASDAQ:MCHP)

Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Investors bought 19,025 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 48% compared to the average daily volume of 12,893 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on MCHP. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Microchip Technology from $58.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America cut shares of Microchip Technology from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Raymond James restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $60.00 price target (down previously from $95.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.37.

Microchip Technology Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MCHP opened at $51.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 2.25. Microchip Technology has a fifty-two week low of $49.92 and a fifty-two week high of $100.57. The firm has a market cap of $27.82 billion, a PE ratio of 92.36 and a beta of 1.52. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $56.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $64.74.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 6.49% and a return on equity of 12.62%. Equities research analysts predict that Microchip Technology will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Microchip Technology Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.455 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. Microchip Technology’s dividend payout ratio is presently 325.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microchip Technology

In related news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 3,724 shares of Microchip Technology stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.88, for a total transaction of $226,717.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 33,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,025,599.36. This trade represents a 10.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Microchip Technology

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. 111 Capital bought a new position in shares of Microchip Technology during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $751,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH increased its position in Microchip Technology by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 47,419 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,709,000 after purchasing an additional 4,079 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Microchip Technology in the 4th quarter worth $24,175,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microchip Technology in the 4th quarter worth about $123,000. Finally, LM Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Microchip Technology during the 4th quarter valued at about $651,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.51% of the company’s stock.

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.