Short Interest in Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) Expands By 26.1%

Microchip Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ:MCHP) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 33,500,000 shares, a growth of 26.1% from the February 13th total of 26,570,000 shares. Currently, 6.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 9,930,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Microchip Technology

In other Microchip Technology news, CFO James Eric Bjornholt sold 3,724 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.88, for a total value of $226,717.12. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 33,272 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,025,599.36. This represents a 10.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Microchip Technology

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Microchip Technology by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,912,345 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,952,123,000 after purchasing an additional 569,699 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Microchip Technology by 39.3% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 11,093,007 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $636,184,000 after purchasing an additional 3,131,807 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Microchip Technology by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,247,908 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $587,718,000 after purchasing an additional 890,819 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Microchip Technology during the 4th quarter worth approximately $452,627,000. Finally, FIL Ltd lifted its holdings in Microchip Technology by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 7,877,482 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $451,774,000 after purchasing an additional 653,705 shares during the last quarter. 91.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Microchip Technology Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MCHP traded up $1.76 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $55.26. 6,181,751 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,845,656. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. Microchip Technology has a 12 month low of $50.21 and a 12 month high of $100.57. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $56.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.72 billion, a PE ratio of 98.68 and a beta of 1.52.

Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 12.62% and a net margin of 6.49%. As a group, analysts predict that Microchip Technology will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Microchip Technology Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Microchip Technology’s dividend payout ratio is currently 325.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCHP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Microchip Technology from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Microchip Technology from $90.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target (down previously from $85.00) on shares of Microchip Technology in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Microchip Technology in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Microchip Technology from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.37.

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.