Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Semtech Corporation (NASDAQ:SMTC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Semtech Corporation (NASDAQ:SMTC - Free Report) by 4.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 427,958 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 17,345 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.49% of Semtech worth $14,722,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Boothbay Fund Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Semtech by 48.9% in the fourth quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 40,663 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,515,000 after buying an additional 13,348 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Semtech by 16.8% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,084 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $140,000 after buying an additional 586 shares during the period. Fortress Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Semtech in the fourth quarter worth about $1,225,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Semtech by 471.3% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 204,159 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $12,627,000 after buying an additional 168,426 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Semtech in the fourth quarter worth about $1,326,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SMTC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $54.00 price target on shares of Semtech in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. UBS Group cut their price target on Semtech from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $43.00 price target on Semtech in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $68.00 price target on shares of Semtech in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Craig Hallum reduced their target price on Semtech from $70.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $58.58.

Semtech Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of SMTC stock opened at $48.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 2.53. The firm's 50-day moving average is $40.54 and its 200-day moving average is $43.42. The stock has a market cap of $4.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.35 and a beta of 1.92. Semtech Corporation has a 52-week low of $24.05 and a 52-week high of $79.52.

Semtech (NASDAQ:SMTC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 27th. The semiconductor company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $251.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $249.79 million. Semtech had a negative net margin of 12.52% and a positive return on equity of 19.66%. The business's revenue was up 21.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.06 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Semtech Corporation will post -0.02 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Mark Lin sold 999 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.84, for a total value of $43,796.16. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 17,211 shares of the company's stock, valued at $754,530.24. The trade was a 5.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Asaf Silberstein sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.98, for a total transaction of $85,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 105,996 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,555,708.08. This trade represents a 1.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

About Semtech

Semtech Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, and markets analog and mixed-signal semiconductor and advanced algorithms. It provides signal integrity products, including a portfolio of optical data communications and video transport products used in various infrastructure, and industrial applications; a portfolio of integrated circuits for data centers, enterprise networks, passive optical networks, wireless base station optical transceivers, and high-speed interface applications; and video products for broadcast applications, as well as video-over-IP technology for professional audio video applications.

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