Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV Acquires Shares of 163,911 STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM)

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 163,911 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock, valued at approximately $3,599,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in STMicroelectronics by 225.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,329 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 921 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in STMicroelectronics by 197.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 1,779 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 1,180 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of STMicroelectronics by 139.6% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,862 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 1,085 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of STMicroelectronics in the fourth quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 5.05% of the company's stock.

STMicroelectronics Price Performance

NYSE:STM traded down $0.71 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $29.20. 7,875,926 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,997,131. The firm's 50-day moving average is $24.15 and its 200-day moving average is $24.42. The stock has a market cap of $26.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 3.11 and a quick ratio of 2.37. STMicroelectronics has a 1-year low of $17.25 and a 1-year high of $43.35.

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The semiconductor producer reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.02. STMicroelectronics had a return on equity of 8.92% and a net margin of 11.74%. The firm had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.55 billion. Equities research analysts expect that STMicroelectronics will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STMicroelectronics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 24th will be given a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 24th. STMicroelectronics's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of STMicroelectronics in a research note on Friday, April 25th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on STMicroelectronics from $23.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group raised STMicroelectronics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Dbs Bank downgraded STMicroelectronics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.97.

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.