Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 56,108 Shares of Semtech Co. (NASDAQ:SMTC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Semtech Co. (NASDAQ:SMTC) by 15.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 410,613 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 56,108 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Semtech were worth $25,396,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of SMTC. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Semtech by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 11,285 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $515,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares in the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division raised its stake in Semtech by 148.6% during the 4th quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 20,568 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,272,000 after buying an additional 12,296 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Semtech by 128.3% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 30,521 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,394,000 after acquiring an additional 17,150 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR acquired a new stake in Semtech in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $889,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Semtech by 100.2% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 35,610 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,626,000 after acquiring an additional 17,823 shares in the last quarter.

Semtech Trading Down 4.2 %

Shares of SMTC opened at $37.10 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.84, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $60.30 and a 200 day moving average of $51.10. Semtech Co. has a 12 month low of $19.76 and a 12 month high of $79.52.

Semtech (NASDAQ:SMTC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The semiconductor company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $236.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $232.89 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.02 EPS. Semtech’s quarterly revenue was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Semtech Co. will post -0.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Semtech

In other news, SVP Imran Sherazi sold 2,946 shares of Semtech stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.30, for a total value of $186,481.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,317 shares in the company, valued at $399,866.10. This trade represents a 31.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Asaf Silberstein sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $140,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 76,417 shares in the company, valued at $5,349,190. The trade was a 2.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,747 shares of company stock worth $1,095,061 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Northland Securities increased their target price on Semtech from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on shares of Semtech from $74.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 target price (down from $75.00) on shares of Semtech in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Semtech from $80.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Semtech in a report on Friday, January 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.91.

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.