Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $54.57, but opened at $52.28. Microchip Technology shares last traded at $51.62, with a volume of 1,205,500 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MCHP. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Microchip Technology from $71.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Microchip Technology from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com cut Microchip Technology from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price (down from $95.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 price target (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Microchip Technology currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.37.

Microchip Technology Trading Down 5.2 %

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 firm has a market capitalization of $27.83 billion, a PE ratio of 92.37 and a beta of 1.52. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $56.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.13.

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

Microchip Technology Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid 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 payout ratio is 325.00%.

Insider Transactions at Microchip Technology

In related news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 3,724 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.88, for a total value of $226,717.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 33,272 shares in the company, valued at $2,025,599.36. This trade represents a 10.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MCHP. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position 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 buying an additional 569,699 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Microchip Technology by 39.3% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 11,093,007 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $636,184,000 after acquiring an additional 3,131,807 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Microchip Technology by 9.5% in 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 purchased a new position in shares of Microchip Technology during the fourth quarter worth $452,627,000. Finally, FIL Ltd lifted 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 valued at $451,774,000 after purchasing an additional 653,705 shares during the period. 91.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.