J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Takes $375,000 Position in STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 7,487 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock, valued at approximately $375,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. SFE Investment Counsel raised its holdings in shares of STMicroelectronics by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. SFE Investment Counsel now owns 9,551 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of STMicroelectronics by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 7,579 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of STMicroelectronics by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,701 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of STMicroelectronics by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,335 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of STMicroelectronics by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 20,203 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock valued at $872,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

STMicroelectronics Stock Performance

NYSE:STM opened at $42.14 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $43.88 and its 200-day moving average is $44.59. STMicroelectronics has a 52-week low of $37.21 and a 52-week 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 company has a market cap of $38.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.45, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.69.

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor producer reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.19. STMicroelectronics had a net margin of 24.36% and a return on equity of 27.70%. The company had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.32 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that STMicroelectronics will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

STMicroelectronics Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This is an increase from STMicroelectronics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 25th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. STMicroelectronics’s payout ratio is presently 4.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of STMicroelectronics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. HSBC began coverage on shares of STMicroelectronics in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of STMicroelectronics in a report on Monday, April 8th. Craig Hallum dropped their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of STMicroelectronics from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $50.75.

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.