Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) Sets New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $43.33 and last traded at $42.88, with a volume of 3527827 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $48.93.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCHP has been the subject of several recent research reports. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Microchip Technology from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Microchip Technology from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Bank of America downgraded Microchip Technology from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of 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. Finally, B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective (down from $85.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a report on Friday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.37.

Microchip Technology Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $54.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.48 billion, a PE ratio of 64.68 and a beta of 1.51. 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 (NASDAQ:MCHP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.13 earnings per share (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, equities analysts expect that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Microchip Technology Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.455 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.02%. Microchip Technology’s payout ratio is presently 325.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Microchip Technology by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,912,345 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,952,123,000 after purchasing an additional 569,699 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted 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 acquiring an additional 3,131,807 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased 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 acquiring an additional 890,819 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Microchip Technology during the 4th quarter worth $452,627,000. Finally, FIL Ltd lifted its stake 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 during the last quarter. 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.