Clearbridge Investments LLC Reduces Stake in Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPWR)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lessened its position in shares of Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPWR) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 52,746 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 834 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 0.11% of Monolithic Power Systems worth $31,210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MPWR. Paragon Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Monolithic Power Systems by 140.6% during the 4th quarter. Paragon Advisors LLC now owns 5,128 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,034,000 after purchasing an additional 2,997 shares during the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd increased its holdings in Monolithic Power Systems by 1,042.4% during the fourth quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 2,936 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,737,000 after buying an additional 2,679 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in Monolithic Power Systems in the third quarter worth approximately $54,201,000. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Monolithic Power Systems during the 4th quarter worth $3,182,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Monolithic Power Systems by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,334,164 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,230,626,000 after acquiring an additional 133,838 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.46% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Monolithic Power Systems

In other news, EVP Maurice Sciammas sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $701.98, for a total transaction of $4,913,860.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,015 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,242,209.70. This represents a 30.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Monolithic Power Systems Stock Up 0.3 %

MPWR opened at $581.48 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.83 billion, a PE ratio of 15.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $635.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $692.69. Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $546.71 and a 52 week high of $959.64.

Monolithic Power Systems (NASDAQ:MPWR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The semiconductor company reported $3.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.01 by ($0.84). Monolithic Power Systems had a net margin of 80.95% and a return on equity of 20.36%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Monolithic Power Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $1.56 dividend. This represents a $6.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Monolithic Power Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Monolithic Power Systems’s payout ratio is currently 16.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MPWR shares. Citigroup started coverage on Monolithic Power Systems in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $700.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Monolithic Power Systems from $710.00 to $665.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Monolithic Power Systems from $700.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their target price on shares of Monolithic Power Systems from $800.00 to $750.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Monolithic Power Systems from $600.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Monolithic Power Systems presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $851.58.

About Monolithic Power Systems

Monolithic Power Systems, Inc engages in the design, development, marketing, and sale of semiconductor-based power electronics solutions for the storage and computing, automotive, enterprise data, consumer, communications, and industrial markets. The company provides direct current (DC) to DC integrated circuits (ICs) that are used to convert and control voltages of various electronic systems, such as cloud-based CPU servers, server artificial intelligence applications, storage applications, commercial notebooks, digital cockpit, power sources, home appliances, 4G and 5G infrastructure, and satellite communications applications.