Microchip Technology Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:MCHP)

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

Insider Activity at Microchip Technology

In other Microchip Technology news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 3,724 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.88, for a total transaction of $226,717.12. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,272 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,025,599.36. This trade represents a 10.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microchip Technology

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mainstream Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Microchip Technology in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in Microchip Technology by 309.5% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 475 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Microchip Technology in the third quarter worth about $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Microchip Technology during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Microchip Technology during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on MCHP. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Microchip Technology from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Microchip Technology from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective (down from $95.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $65.00 target price (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Microchip Technology in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.37.

Microchip Technology Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MCHP opened at $51.72 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.36 and a beta of 1.52. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $56.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.74. Microchip Technology has a 12-month low of $49.92 and a 12-month high of $100.57. The company has a current ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.15). Microchip Technology had a net margin of 6.49% and a return on equity of 12.62%. Equities research analysts forecast that Microchip Technology will post 1.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microchip Technology Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.455 dividend. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Microchip Technology’s payout ratio is 325.00%.

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.