Confluence Investment Management LLC Purchases New Holdings in STMicroelectronics N.V. $STM

Key Points

• Confluence Investment Management initiated a position in STMicroelectronics during the third quarter, purchasing 24,998 shares valued at approximately $1.33 million. Other major investors also increased or initiated holdings.
• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: seven analysts rate STM a Buy and five rate it Hold, with an average price target of $76.17 compared with the reported share price of $53.51.
• STMicroelectronics exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting adjusted earnings of $0.31 per share versus the $0.26 consensus and revenue of $3.49 billion versus $3.46 billion expected.

Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of STMicroelectronics N.V. (NYSE:STM - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 24,998 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock, valued at approximately $1,334,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Situational Awareness LP acquired a new position in shares of STMicroelectronics in the 2nd quarter valued at $584,344,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of STMicroelectronics by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,532,428 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock worth $273,211,000 after purchasing an additional 1,145,426 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in STMicroelectronics in the first quarter valued at about $19,132,000. Beaconlight Capital LLC bought a new stake in STMicroelectronics in the first quarter valued at about $13,284,000. Finally, Brandes Investment Partners LP lifted its stake in STMicroelectronics by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 1,566,965 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock valued at $40,647,000 after buying an additional 265,108 shares during the period. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on STM. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of STMicroelectronics from $67.50 to $60.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of STMicroelectronics in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. UBS Group set a $100.00 target price on shares of STMicroelectronics in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Zacks Research lowered shares of STMicroelectronics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of STMicroelectronics in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $76.17.

STMicroelectronics Stock Performance

Shares of STM stock opened at $53.51 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 2.78. STMicroelectronics N.V. has a 52 week low of $21.11 and a 52 week high of $81.42. The company's 50 day moving average price is $51.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.71. The company has a market capitalization of $48.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 104.93 and a beta of 1.96.

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The semiconductor producer reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.05. STMicroelectronics had a net margin of 3.56% and a return on equity of 4.30%. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.46 billion. On average, analysts expect that STMicroelectronics N.V. will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STMicroelectronics Profile

STMicroelectronics N.V. NYSE: STM is a global semiconductor company that designs, develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of electronic components and solutions. Its products support applications in automotive, industrial, personal electronics, communications infrastructure and other technology markets.

The company's portfolio includes microcontrollers, microprocessors, analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits, power semiconductors, sensors, MEMS devices, connectivity products and embedded-processing solutions.

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