Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Shares of Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $44.90, but opened at $41.37. Microchip Technology shares last traded at $39.92, with a volume of 3,830,634 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on MCHP. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Microchip Technology from $72.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Microchip Technology from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Microchip Technology in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of Microchip Technology from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, B. Riley restated a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned 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 stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.37.

Microchip Technology Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $52.68 and its 200-day moving average is $61.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.02 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.13 earnings per share 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%. Analysts forecast that Microchip Technology Incorporated will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microchip Technology Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $0.455 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.84%. Microchip Technology’s payout ratio is 325.00%.

Insider Activity at Microchip Technology

In other Microchip Technology news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 3,724 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 33,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,025,599.36. The trade was a 10.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microchip Technology

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Microchip Technology in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $452,627,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its stake in shares of Microchip Technology by 273.2% in the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 5,345,096 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $306,541,000 after acquiring an additional 3,912,895 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Microchip Technology by 39.3% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Microchip Technology by 90.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,360,805 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $364,792,000 after buying an additional 3,013,162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Microchip Technology by 9,901.6% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,857,654 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $163,886,000 after acquiring an additional 2,829,082 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.51% of the company’s stock.

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.