Mizuho Raises Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) Price Target to $78.00

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) had its price objective boosted by Mizuho from $68.00 to $78.00 in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

MCHP has been the topic of several other reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on Microchip Technology from $55.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 target price on shares of Microchip Technology in a report on Friday, May 9th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Microchip Technology from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $56.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $63.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Microchip Technology from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Microchip Technology has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.53.

Microchip Technology Stock Performance

Shares of Microchip Technology stock opened at $65.73 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $52.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 117.38 and a beta of 1.48. Microchip Technology has a fifty-two week low of $34.13 and a fifty-two week high of $96.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The semiconductor company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $970.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $962.86 million. Microchip Technology had a return on equity of 12.62% and a net margin of 6.49%. Microchip Technology’s revenue was down 26.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.57 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Microchip Technology will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microchip Technology Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd were given a $0.455 dividend. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 22nd. Microchip Technology’s payout ratio is -18,200.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Karlton D. Johnson sold 494 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.69, for a total transaction of $29,980.86. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,468 shares in the company, valued at $210,472.92. This trade represents a 12.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 2,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.78, for a total value of $112,396.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 34,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,913,979.14. This represents a 5.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microchip Technology

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. 1248 Management LLC lifted its position in Microchip Technology by 101.2% during the 1st quarter. 1248 Management LLC now owns 17,561 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $850,000 after acquiring an additional 8,832 shares during the period. eCIO Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Microchip Technology in the 1st quarter worth approximately $50,000. First Hawaiian Bank grew its stake in shares of Microchip Technology by 23.8% in the 1st quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 40,909 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,980,000 after buying an additional 7,856 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Microchip Technology by 17.4% in the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 61,632 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,984,000 after purchasing an additional 9,153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Microchip Technology in the first quarter worth approximately $4,115,000. 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.