Van ECK Associates Corp Reduces Stock Position in STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM)

Van ECK Associates Corp trimmed its position in STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,849,100 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock after selling 346,421 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.87% of STMicroelectronics worth $195,992,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning lifted its stake in shares of STMicroelectronics by 10.9% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 66,113 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock valued at $1,966,000 after buying an additional 6,509 shares during the period. Naviter Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of STMicroelectronics by 25.5% during the third quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 13,945 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 2,833 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of STMicroelectronics by 21.5% in the third quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 15,760 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock valued at $469,000 after purchasing an additional 2,790 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in STMicroelectronics by 65.2% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,668 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 3,814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in STMicroelectronics by 25.3% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 192,372 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $5,719,000 after buying an additional 38,874 shares during the period. 5.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on STM. Craig Hallum lowered their price target on STMicroelectronics from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays downgraded shares of STMicroelectronics from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America downgraded shares of STMicroelectronics from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of STMicroelectronics in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on STMicroelectronics in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.26.

STMicroelectronics Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of STM opened at $23.52 on Thursday. STMicroelectronics has a 12 month low of $21.36 and a 12 month high of $49.05. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $24.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 3.11 and a quick ratio of 2.37. The stock has a market cap of $21.25 billion, a PE ratio of 14.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.51.

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor producer reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.02. STMicroelectronics had a return on equity of 8.92% and a net margin of 11.74%. Equities analysts forecast that STMicroelectronics will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STMicroelectronics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. STMicroelectronics’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.67%.

About STMicroelectronics

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.