Washington Capital Management Inc. Acquires 15,020 Shares of STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM)

Washington Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) by 40.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,435 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,020 shares during the quarter. STMicroelectronics makes up 0.9% of Washington Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Washington Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in STMicroelectronics were worth $1,151,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in STMicroelectronics in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in STMicroelectronics by 225.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,329 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 921 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in STMicroelectronics by 197.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,779 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 1,180 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in STMicroelectronics in the fourth quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in STMicroelectronics by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,682 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

STMicroelectronics Price Performance

Shares of NYSE STM opened at $28.46 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $23.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.26. STMicroelectronics has a 1-year low of $17.25 and a 1-year high of $45.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a current ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The semiconductor producer reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.02. STMicroelectronics had a net margin of 11.74% and a return on equity of 8.92%. The firm had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.55 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that STMicroelectronics will post 0.85 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, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 24th will be given a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 24th. STMicroelectronics’s payout ratio is presently 25.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of STMicroelectronics from $18.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of STMicroelectronics in a report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of STMicroelectronics from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Dbs Bank lowered shares of STMicroelectronics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of STMicroelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.97.

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.