Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. $MPWR Shares Sold by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp decreased its holdings in shares of Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPWR) by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 732,448 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 219,612 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Monolithic Power Systems were worth $674,321,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MPWR. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Monolithic Power Systems by 2.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,074,033 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,591,998,000 after buying an additional 134,087 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Monolithic Power Systems by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 863,228 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $794,723,000 after purchasing an additional 6,503 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Monolithic Power Systems by 18.0% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 692,747 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $506,661,000 after purchasing an additional 105,721 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Monolithic Power Systems during the second quarter worth $438,014,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Monolithic Power Systems by 14.7% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 556,587 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $512,416,000 after buying an additional 71,199 shares during the period. 93.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Monolithic Power Systems from $1,250.00 to $1,350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Oppenheimer reiterated 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Monolithic Power Systems from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on shares of Monolithic Power Systems from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Monolithic Power Systems from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,218.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Maurice Sciammas sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,179.97, for a total value of $235,994.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,299 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,532,781.03. This represents a 13.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Saria Tseng sold 22,875 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 200,626 shares in the company, valued at $234,965,146.16. This trade represents a 10.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 98,550 shares of company stock valued at $114,256,090 over the last 90 days. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Monolithic Power Systems Stock Performance

Shares of MPWR opened at $1,062.00 on Tuesday. Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $438.86 and a 1 year high of $1,256.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.17 billion, a PE ratio of 83.36, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,089.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $988.86.

Monolithic Power Systems (NASDAQ:MPWR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The semiconductor company reported $4.79 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 the consensus estimate of $741.69 million. Monolithic Power Systems had a net margin of 22.07% and a return on equity of 18.33%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.09 EPS. Analysts predict that Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. will post 13.2 EPS for the current year.

Monolithic Power Systems Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $2.00 dividend. This represents a $8.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Monolithic Power Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.56. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Monolithic Power Systems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.98%.

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.