Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Purchases 683 Shares of Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. $MPWR

Key Points

• Asset Management One increased its stake in Monolithic Power Systems by 3.3%, buying 683 shares to hold 21,473 shares worth about $19.96 million at the end of the quarter.
• Significant insider selling occurred recently — insiders sold 137,683 shares in the past 90 days, including EVP Saria Tseng's sale of 25,674 shares for roughly $25.94 million; insiders now own 3.4% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $1,235.08, while Stifel raised its price target to $1,500 and other firms maintained upbeat views.

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPWR - Free Report) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,473 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 683 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Monolithic Power Systems were worth $19,963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Monolithic Power Systems in the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,159,000. Oak Harvest Investment Services boosted its stake in Monolithic Power Systems by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 3,541 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $3,210,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Monolithic Power Systems by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,863 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $14,378,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Monolithic Power Systems by 183.9% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 2,757 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,499,000 after purchasing an additional 1,786 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position in shares of Monolithic Power Systems by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 22,864 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $22,987,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.46% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Monolithic Power Systems from $1,300.00 to $1,500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $1,300.00 target price on shares of Monolithic Power Systems in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on Monolithic Power Systems from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Monolithic Power Systems in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Monolithic Power Systems from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,235.08.

Insider Transactions at Monolithic Power Systems

In related news, EVP Saria Tseng sold 25,674 shares of Monolithic Power Systems stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,010.50, for a total transaction of $25,943,577.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 174,982 shares of the company's stock, valued at $176,819,311. The trade was a 12.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Victor K. Lee sold 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,212.16, for a total value of $484,864.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 27,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,644,712.96. This represents a 1.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 137,683 shares of company stock valued at $158,138,447. 3.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Monolithic Power Systems Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MPWR opened at $1,468.35 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $72.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 115.26, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 1.48. Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $496.40 and a 12 month high of $1,479.23. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,160.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,049.24.

Monolithic Power Systems (NASDAQ:MPWR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The semiconductor company reported $4.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.74 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $751.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $741.69 million. Monolithic Power Systems had a return on equity of 18.33% and a net margin of 22.07%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.09 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. will post 13.2 EPS for the current year.

Monolithic Power Systems Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $2.00 dividend. This is a boost from Monolithic Power Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $1.56. This represents a $8.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. Monolithic Power Systems's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.79%.

About Monolithic Power Systems

Monolithic Power Systems NASDAQ: MPWR is a fabless semiconductor company that designs and supplies high-performance power management solutions for a broad range of electronic systems. Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Kirkland, Washington, the company focuses on analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits that convert, regulate and monitor electrical power with an emphasis on efficiency, integration and power density.

MPS's product portfolio includes DC‑DC switching regulators, power modules, power management ICs (PMICs), LED drivers, battery-management ICs, motor drivers, and AC‑DC power solutions.

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