AQR Capital Management LLC Grows Stake in Power Integrations, Inc. (NASDAQ:POWI)

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Power Integrations, Inc. (NASDAQ:POWI - Free Report) by 138.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 89,814 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 52,079 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.16% of Power Integrations worth $5,542,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Power Integrations by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 996,040 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $61,456,000 after purchasing an additional 83,186 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Power Integrations in the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Snyder Capital Management L P grew its position in shares of Power Integrations by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Snyder Capital Management L P now owns 882,518 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $54,451,000 after purchasing an additional 160,784 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Power Integrations by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 31,114 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,920,000 after acquiring an additional 1,043 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Power Integrations by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 44,414 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,741,000 after buying an additional 5,853 shares during the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Power Integrations news, CEO Balu Balakrishnan sold 9,544 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.19, for a total value of $488,557.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 590,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,231,790.20. This trade represents a 1.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Clifford Walker sold 1,088 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.89, for a total value of $55,368.32. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 141,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,214,420.85. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,974 shares of company stock valued at $1,853,615 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on POWI. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Power Integrations from $90.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com lowered Power Integrations from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $78.00 price target on shares of Power Integrations in a report on Friday, February 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $73.83.

Power Integrations Trading Up 4.7 %

Shares of POWI traded up $2.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $54.15. 802,191 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 453,042. Power Integrations, Inc. has a one year low of $40.78 and a one year high of $79.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 95.00, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a 50-day moving average of $51.04 and a 200 day moving average of $58.58.

Power Integrations (NASDAQ:POWI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The semiconductor company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.12). Power Integrations had a net margin of 7.69% and a return on equity of 4.48%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Power Integrations, Inc. will post 0.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Power Integrations Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Power Integrations's payout ratio is 147.37%.

Power Integrations Profile

Power Integrations, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, and markets analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits (ICs), and other electronic components and circuitry used in high-voltage power conversion worldwide. The company provides a range of alternating current to direct current power conversion products that address power supply ranging from less than one watt of output to approximately 500 watts of output for mobile-device chargers, consumer appliances, utility meters, LCD monitors, main and standby power supplies for desktop computers and TVs, LED lighting, and various other consumer and industrial applications, as well as power conversion in high-power applications comprising industrial motors, solar and wind-power systems, electric vehicles, and high-voltage DC transmission systems.