Franklin Resources Inc. Trims Holdings in Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPWR)

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its holdings in Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPWR) by 10.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,439,822 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 172,235 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 2.95% of Monolithic Power Systems worth $851,943,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MPWR. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Monolithic Power Systems by 120.0% in the fourth quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 44 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Monolithic Power Systems in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. West Oak Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Monolithic Power Systems by 990.9% during the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 600 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 545 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Monolithic Power Systems during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in Monolithic Power Systems in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. 93.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MPWR shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Monolithic Power Systems from $710.00 to $665.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Monolithic Power Systems from $600.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Loop Capital raised their price objective on Monolithic Power Systems from $660.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 target price on shares of Monolithic Power Systems in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Monolithic Power Systems from $700.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $851.58.

Insider Activity at Monolithic Power Systems

In other Monolithic Power Systems news, EVP Maurice Sciammas sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $701.98, for a total transaction of $4,913,860.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,242,209.70. This trade represents a 30.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Monolithic Power Systems Trading Down 3.6 %

Shares of MPWR stock opened at $579.89 on Monday. Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $546.71 and a 12-month high of $959.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $637.11 and its 200 day moving average is $697.25.

Monolithic Power Systems (NASDAQ:MPWR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The semiconductor company reported $3.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.01 by ($0.84). Monolithic Power Systems had a return on equity of 20.36% and a net margin of 80.95%. As a group, equities analysts predict 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.56 per share. This represents a $6.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. This is an increase from Monolithic Power Systems’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Monolithic Power Systems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.97%.

Monolithic Power Systems Company Profile

Monolithic Power Systems, Inc engages in the design, development, marketing, and sale of semiconductor-based power electronics solutions for the storage and computing, automotive, enterprise data, consumer, communications, and industrial markets. The company provides direct current (DC) to DC integrated circuits (ICs) that are used to convert and control voltages of various electronic systems, such as cloud-based CPU servers, server artificial intelligence applications, storage applications, commercial notebooks, digital cockpit, power sources, home appliances, 4G and 5G infrastructure, and satellite communications applications.