Swiss National Bank Cuts Holdings in Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. $MPWR

Swiss National Bank lessened its stake in Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPWR) by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 138,100 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 6,800 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Monolithic Power Systems were worth $127,140,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MPWR. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 134,087 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Monolithic Power Systems by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 863,228 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $794,723,000 after purchasing an additional 6,503 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Monolithic Power Systems by 18.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 692,747 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $506,661,000 after purchasing an additional 105,721 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Monolithic Power Systems during the second quarter worth $438,014,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Monolithic Power Systems by 14.7% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 556,587 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $512,416,000 after buying an additional 71,199 shares during the last quarter. 93.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Monolithic Power Systems Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of MPWR opened at $1,055.82 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,092.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $990.35. The firm has a market cap of $51.86 billion, a PE ratio of 82.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.45. Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $438.86 and a 12-month high of $1,256.22.

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

Monolithic Power Systems Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $2.00 per share. This is an increase 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 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Monolithic Power Systems’s dividend payout ratio is 48.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MPWR. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Monolithic Power Systems from $1,250.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Monolithic Power Systems in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Monolithic Power Systems from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Monolithic Power Systems from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Monolithic Power Systems currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,218.42.

Insider Transactions at Monolithic Power Systems

In other Monolithic Power Systems news, CFO Theodore Blegen sold 21,725 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 82,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $96,448,539.48. This represents a 20.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Maurice Sciammas sold 22,875 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 178,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $209,198,455. The trade was a 11.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 98,550 shares of company stock worth $114,256,090 over the last three months. 3.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Monolithic Power Systems Company 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.