PFG Investments LLC Raises Stock Holdings in STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM)

PFG Investments LLC boosted its position in STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) by 91.1% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 12,026 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock after buying an additional 5,732 shares during the quarter. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in STMicroelectronics were worth $520,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of STMicroelectronics by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,701 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $135,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of STMicroelectronics in the fourth quarter worth $2,141,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of STMicroelectronics by 27.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 589,282 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock valued at $25,433,000 after acquiring an additional 128,707 shares in the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of STMicroelectronics by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 110,423 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $4,766,000 after purchasing an additional 5,957 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in STMicroelectronics by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 431,652 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $18,630,000 after purchasing an additional 34,443 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on STM shares. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of STMicroelectronics in a research note on Friday. Craig Hallum cut their price target on shares of STMicroelectronics from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of STMicroelectronics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. HSBC assumed coverage on STMicroelectronics in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of STMicroelectronics in a report on Monday, April 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.75.

STMicroelectronics Stock Performance

STM stock traded down $0.16 on Monday, hitting $41.17. The company had a trading volume of 2,828,355 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,641,104. The company has a current ratio of 3.34, a quick ratio of 2.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. STMicroelectronics has a 12-month low of $37.21 and a 12-month high of $55.85. The stock has a market cap of $37.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.69. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.53.

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor producer reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.05). STMicroelectronics had a net margin of 22.30% and a return on equity of 22.95%. The firm had revenue of $3.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. STMicroelectronics’s quarterly revenue was down 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that STMicroelectronics will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STMicroelectronics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 25th will be given a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. This is a boost from STMicroelectronics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 25th. STMicroelectronics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.13%.

STMicroelectronics Company Profile

STMicroelectronics N.V., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells semiconductor products in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through Automotive and Discrete Group; Analog, MEMS and Sensors Group; and Microcontrollers and Digital ICs Group segments.