Cowen Raises Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) Price Target to $72.00

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP – Get Rating) had its target price boosted by Cowen from $60.00 to $72.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Stock Target Advisor reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the semiconductor company’s stock.

MCHP has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $76.00 to $61.00 in a report on Friday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Microchip Technology from a hold rating to a buy rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Microchip Technology from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Microchip Technology from $78.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microchip Technology has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $89.73.

Microchip Technology Trading Down 1.8 %

NASDAQ MCHP opened at $71.46 on Wednesday. Microchip Technology has a twelve month low of $54.33 and a twelve month high of $90.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.78. The stock has a market cap of $39.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.27, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.62. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $63.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.36.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 2nd. The semiconductor company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.10. Microchip Technology had a net margin of 21.34% and a return on equity of 44.90%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Microchip Technology will post 5.19 EPS for the current year.

Microchip Technology Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.301 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 18th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.68%. This is a positive change from Microchip Technology’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Microchip Technology’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.44%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ganesh Moorthy acquired 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $57.29 per share, with a total value of $458,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 720,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,266,731.77. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Microchip Technology news, CEO Ganesh Moorthy bought 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $57.29 per share, with a total value of $458,320.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 720,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,266,731.77. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 2,326 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.66, for a total transaction of $155,051.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,207 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,280,238.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,564 shares of company stock valued at $637,217. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Microchip Technology

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Microchip Technology by 3.1% in the second quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,830 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $629,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in Microchip Technology by 2.6% during the second quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 397,231 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $22,717,000 after buying an additional 10,013 shares during the last quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC grew its stake in Microchip Technology by 32.1% during the second quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC now owns 10,837 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $629,000 after buying an additional 2,633 shares during the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. grew its stake in Microchip Technology by 29.6% during the second quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 310,143 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $18,013,000 after buying an additional 70,782 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in Microchip Technology by 5,902.7% during the second quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 168,676 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,797,000 after buying an additional 165,866 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.36% of the company’s stock.

About Microchip Technology

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Microchip Technology Incorporated develops, manufactures, and sells 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 microcontrollers; 32-bit embedded microprocessors markets; and specialized microcontrollers for automotive, industrial, computing, communications, lighting, power supplies, motor control, human machine interface, security, wired connectivity, and wireless connectivity applications.