Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ: MCHP – Get Rated) saw a sharp drop in short interest in September. Short interest totaled 12,730,000 shares as of Sept. 15, a decrease of 6.1% from 13,560,000 shares as of Aug. 31. Based on the average daily trading volume of 4,530,000 shares, the current average daily coverage ratio is 2.8 days.
Wall Street analysts predict growth
Several research firms have recently commented on the MCHP. Wells Fargo & Company raised its price target on Microchip Technology to $75.00 from $60.00 in a Wednesday, Aug. 3 report, with an “equal weight” rating on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Microchip Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised its price target on the stock to $75.00 from $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 28. B. Riley raised his price target on Microchip Technology to $86.00 from $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, Aug. 3, with a “buy” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Microchip Technology to $82.00 from $81.00 in a research note on Wednesday, Aug. 3, with an “overweight” rating on the stock. Finally, Cowen raised its price target on Microchip Technology to $72.00 from $60.00 in a research note on Wednesday, Aug. 3, and gave the stock an “outperform” rating. Four equity research analysts have a hold rating on the stock, seventeen have a buy rating and one has a strong buy rating on the company. Microchip’s current consensus rating is a “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $89.73, according to MarketBeat.com.
Insider betting
In other Microchip Technology news, Chief Financial Officer James Eric Bjornholt sold 2,379 shares of the company in trading on Tuesday, Aug. 23. The average selling price of these shares was $68.21 for a total value of $162,271.59. Following the transaction, the CFO now owns 35,333 shares of the company, valued at $2,410,063.93. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which can be accessed via this hyperlink. In other news, Chief Financial Officer James Eric Bjornholt sold 2,379 shares of Microchip Technology in trading on Tuesday, Aug. 23. The stock sold at an average price of $68.21 for a total value of $162,271.59. Following the transaction, the CFO now owns 35,333 shares of the company, worth approximately $2,410,063.93. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which can be accessed at this link. In addition, Director Matthew W. Chapman sold 1,000 shares of the company in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 23. The stock sold at an average price of $68.21 for a total volume of $68,210.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 37,682 shares of the company, valued at $2,570,289.22. Disclosures for this sale can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is held by company insiders.
Institutional inflows and outflows
Large investors have recently bought and sold the company’s stock. Landmark Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position at Microchip Technology for $30,000 in the first quarter. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Microchip Technology stock for $26,000 in the first quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its position in Microchip Technology shares by 1,083.3% in the first quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 355 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at $27,000, after buying an additional 325 shares in the previous quarter. Kessler Investment Group LLC bought a new position in Microchip Technology stock for $32,000 in the first quarter. Finally, Rockbridge Investment Management LCC increased its stake in Microchip Technology by 633.3% in the fourth quarter. Rockbridge Investment Management LCC now owns 440 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, worth $38,000, after buying another 380 shares last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company.
Microchip Technology Price Performance
Shares of Nasdaq MCHP opened Monday at $61.03. The company’s gearing ratio is 1.27, its current ratio is 1.78, and its quick ratio is 1.17. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $67.16 and a 200-day moving average of $66.69. Microchip Technology has a 1-year low of $54.33 and a 1-year high of $90.00. The company has a market cap of $33.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.44, a price-to-earnings ratio of 0.78, and a beta of 1.62.
Microchip Technology (NASDAQ: MCHP – Get Rated) last reported quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, Aug. 2. The semiconductor company reported earnings per share of $1.30 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.03. The company’s revenue for the quarter was $1.96 billion, compared with the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. Microchip’s return on equity was 44.90% and its net profit margin was 21.34%. In the year-ago period, the company earned $0.88 per share. Sell-side analysts forecast Microchip’s earnings per share for the year at 5.42.
Microchip Technology Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 2. Shareholders of record on Friday, Aug. 19 received a $0.301 dividend. This is a boost to Microchip Technology’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date for this dividend is Thursday, August 18. This represents an annualized dividend of $1.20 and a yield of 1.97%. Microchip’s current payout ratio is 44.12%.
About Microchip
(get a rating)
Microchip Technology Incorporated develops, manufactures and markets smart, connected and secure embedded control solutions in the Americas, Europe and Asia. The company offers general-purpose 8-, 16-, and 32-bit microcontrollers; 32-bit embedded microprocessor markets; and applications for automotive, industrial, computing, communications, lighting, power, motor control, human-machine interface, security, wired connectivity and dedicated microcontrollers for wireless connectivity applications.
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