STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) Shares Bought by SFE Investment Counsel

SFE Investment Counsel grew its stake in shares of STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,551 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the quarter. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in STMicroelectronics were worth $479,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of STMicroelectronics by 2,911.3% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 134,004 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $6,012,000 after acquiring an additional 129,554 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in shares of STMicroelectronics by 9.9% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,530,155 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $152,573,000 after acquiring an additional 318,347 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC purchased a new position in shares of STMicroelectronics during the first quarter worth approximately $579,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of STMicroelectronics by 0.8% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 349,772 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $15,117,000 after acquiring an additional 2,885 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of STMicroelectronics by 105.8% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 5,672 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 103,964 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on STM. Craig Hallum lowered their target price on shares of STMicroelectronics from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of STMicroelectronics in a research report on Monday, April 8th. HSBC started coverage on shares of STMicroelectronics in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of STMicroelectronics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, STMicroelectronics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.75.

STMicroelectronics Price Performance

STMicroelectronics stock opened at $39.58 on Friday. STMicroelectronics has a one year low of $37.21 and a one year high of $55.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.44 and a current ratio of 3.17. The business has a fifty day moving average of $44.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.68. The company has a market cap of $35.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.69.

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor producer reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.19. STMicroelectronics had a return on equity of 27.70% and a net margin of 24.36%. The company had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.32 earnings per share. STMicroelectronics’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that STMicroelectronics will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STMicroelectronics Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 25th. This is an increase from STMicroelectronics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. STMicroelectronics’s payout ratio is 4.48%.

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.