Merit Financial Group LLC Purchases 1,786 Shares of Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. $MPWR

Key Points

• Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in Monolithic Power Systems (MPWR) by 183.9%, buying 1,786 shares to hold 2,757 shares valued at $2.499 million.
• Monolithic Power Systems beat Q4 estimates with EPS of $4.79 (vs. $4.74) and revenue of $751.16M (up 20.8% YoY), and raised its quarterly dividend to $2.00 (annualized $8.00, yield 0.5%).
• Insiders sold 137,683 shares (about $158.1M) in the last three months—including large sales by the CFO and EVP—while institutional investors own 93.46% of the stock and analysts' consensus rates MPWR a "Moderate Buy" with a $1,235.08 target.

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPWR - Free Report) by 183.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,757 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,786 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Monolithic Power Systems were worth $2,499,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MPWR. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Monolithic Power Systems by 77,483.1% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 262,231 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $237,676,000 after acquiring an additional 261,893 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Monolithic Power Systems during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $197,260,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Monolithic Power Systems by 66.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 447,801 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $412,263,000 after purchasing an additional 178,622 shares in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Monolithic Power Systems by 36.1% during the 2nd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 529,124 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $386,991,000 after purchasing an additional 140,269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Monolithic Power Systems by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,074,033 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $5,591,998,000 after purchasing an additional 134,087 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.46% of the company's stock.

Monolithic Power Systems Trading Up 1.5%

MPWR stock opened at $1,490.86 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.23 billion, a PE ratio of 117.02, a PEG ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 1.48. Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. has a 1-year low of $496.40 and a 1-year high of $1,492.75. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $1,165.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1,053.19.

Monolithic Power Systems (NASDAQ:MPWR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The semiconductor company reported $4.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.74 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $751.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $741.69 million. Monolithic Power Systems had a return on equity of 18.33% and a net margin of 22.07%.The firm's revenue was up 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.09 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. will post 17.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Monolithic Power Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $2.00 per share. 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. This is a boost from Monolithic Power Systems's previous quarterly dividend of $1.56. Monolithic Power Systems's payout ratio is presently 62.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Monolithic Power Systems

In related news, CFO Theodore Blegen sold 21,725 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,171.16, for a total transaction of $25,443,451.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 82,353 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $96,448,539.48. The trade was a 20.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Maurice Sciammas sold 22,875 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,171.16, for a total value of $26,790,285.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 178,625 shares in the company, valued at $209,198,455. The trade was a 11.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 137,683 shares of company stock worth $158,138,447 in the last three months. 3.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MPWR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Monolithic Power Systems from $1,375.00 to $1,396.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Monolithic Power Systems from $1,250.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Monolithic Power Systems from $1,300.00 to $1,500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Zacks Research cut Monolithic Power Systems from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Monolithic Power Systems in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. 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 data from MarketBeat, Monolithic Power Systems currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,235.08.

Monolithic Power Systems Profile

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MPWR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPWR - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.