STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) Stake Lessened by Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) by 48.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,526 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock after selling 9,028 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.’s holdings in STMicroelectronics were worth $478,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in shares of STMicroelectronics by 13.2% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,556,966 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock valued at $177,813,000 after buying an additional 413,497 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in STMicroelectronics by 36.6% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,005,136 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $129,702,000 after purchasing an additional 805,136 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in STMicroelectronics by 3.0% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,857,566 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $128,133,000 after purchasing an additional 83,859 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lifted its stake in STMicroelectronics by 0.6% during the third quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 2,229,200 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $96,212,000 after purchasing an additional 12,476 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in STMicroelectronics by 448.6% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,214,361 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $118,169,000 after purchasing an additional 1,810,709 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

STMicroelectronics Price Performance

STM opened at $38.61 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $44.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.44 and a current ratio of 3.17. STMicroelectronics has a 52 week low of $37.21 and a 52 week high of $55.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.86 billion, a PE ratio of 8.66, a P/E/G 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.19. STMicroelectronics had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 27.70%. The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.32 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that STMicroelectronics will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current year.

STMicroelectronics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 25th. This is a positive change from STMicroelectronics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. STMicroelectronics’s payout ratio is currently 4.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.