Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. $MPWR Shares Bought by KBC Group NV

Key Points

• KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Monolithic Power Systems by 28% to 12,627 shares (worth $11.445M), and overall institutional ownership is very high at 93.46%, showing strong institutional interest.
• The company posted an earnings beat with Q results of $4.79 EPS vs. $4.74 expected and revenue of $751.16M (up 20.8% YoY); the stock is trading near its 52-week high ($1,468.35) with a market cap of $72.13B.
• Despite analyst upgrades and a raised quarterly dividend to $2.00, there has been significant insider selling—including large sales by the CFO and EVP and 137,683 shares (~$158M) sold in the past 90 days—creating mixed signals for investors.

KBC Group NV raised its position in Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPWR - Free Report) by 28.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,627 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 2,761 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV's holdings in Monolithic Power Systems were worth $11,445,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Monolithic Power Systems by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. now owns 294 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $267,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Monolithic Power Systems by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 243 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Monolithic Power Systems by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 821 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $744,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Patton Fund Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Monolithic Power Systems by 1,503.5% during the 4th quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. now owns 6,029 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $5,464,000 after purchasing an additional 5,653 shares during the period. Finally, Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Monolithic Power Systems by 92.5% during the 4th quarter. Greenup Street Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,769 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $4,323,000 after purchasing an additional 2,292 shares during the period. 93.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MPWR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Monolithic Power Systems from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $1,300.00 price target on shares of Monolithic Power Systems in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Monolithic Power Systems from $1,300.00 to $1,500.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of 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. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Monolithic Power Systems in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,235.08.

Monolithic Power Systems Trading Up 4.7%

Shares of NASDAQ MPWR opened at $1,468.35 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $72.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 115.26, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.48. Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. has a 52 week low of $496.40 and a 52 week high of $1,479.23. The company's 50-day moving average price is $1,160.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,048.31.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $4.74 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $751.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $741.69 million. Monolithic Power Systems had a net margin of 22.07% and a return on equity of 18.33%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.09 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Monolithic Power Systems Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Monolithic Power Systems news, CFO Theodore Blegen sold 21,725 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,171.16, for a total value of $25,443,451.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 82,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $96,448,539.48. This represents a 20.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Maurice Sciammas sold 22,875 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,171.16, for a total transaction of $26,790,285.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 178,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $209,198,455. This trade represents a 11.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 137,683 shares of company stock worth $158,138,447 in the last 90 days. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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