Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Microchip Technology Put Options (NASDAQ:MCHP)

Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors acquired 19,025 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 48% compared to the typical daily volume of 12,893 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCHP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Microchip Technology from $72.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Microchip Technology in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $65.00 target price (down from $85.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Microchip Technology from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.37.

Microchip Technology Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MCHP opened at $51.72 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $56.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.82. Microchip Technology has a 1-year low of $49.92 and a 1-year high of $100.57. 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 cap of $27.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 92.36 and a beta of 1.52.

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 net margin of 6.49% and a return on equity of 12.62%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Microchip Technology will post 1.03 EPS for the current year.

Microchip Technology Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.52%. Microchip Technology’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 325.00%.

Insider Activity at Microchip Technology

In other Microchip Technology news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 3,724 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.88, for a total transaction of $226,717.12. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 33,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,025,599.36. This trade represents a 10.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microchip Technology

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Microchip Technology during the 4th quarter worth $5,917,000. Consolidated Planning Corp acquired a new position in shares of Microchip Technology during the 4th quarter worth $308,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Microchip Technology during the 3rd quarter worth $3,312,000. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. acquired a new position in shares of Microchip Technology during the 4th quarter worth $520,000. Finally, one8zero8 LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microchip Technology in the 4th quarter worth about $384,000. 91.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.