Legal & General Group Plc Increases Position in NXP Semiconductors N.V. $NXPI

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in NXP Semiconductors by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 1,964,079 shares valued at about $426.3 million.
• NXP Semiconductors reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $3.05 versus $2.98 estimated and revenue of $3.18 billion, up 12.2% year over year.
• Analysts have turned more constructive on the stock, with multiple firms raising price targets; MarketBeat shows an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $294.25.

Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ:NXPI - Free Report) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,964,079 shares of the semiconductor provider's stock after buying an additional 22,067 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.78% of NXP Semiconductors worth $426,323,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of NXP Semiconductors by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,612,546 shares of the semiconductor provider's stock valued at $2,954,739,000 after buying an additional 293,558 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of NXP Semiconductors by 11.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,583,718 shares of the semiconductor provider's stock valued at $2,865,690,000 after buying an additional 1,333,920 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in NXP Semiconductors by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,988,061 shares of the semiconductor provider's stock worth $2,512,283,000 after purchasing an additional 53,261 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in NXP Semiconductors by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,849,741 shares of the semiconductor provider's stock worth $1,703,865,000 after purchasing an additional 121,419 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in NXP Semiconductors by 3.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,755,687 shares of the semiconductor provider's stock worth $1,083,013,000 after purchasing an additional 147,192 shares in the last quarter. 90.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NXP Semiconductors Stock Performance

Shares of NXPI opened at $316.47 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The firm's 50-day moving average is $237.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $227.22. NXP Semiconductors N.V. has a twelve month low of $183.00 and a twelve month high of $316.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.28, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.77.

NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ:NXPI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The semiconductor provider reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.98 by $0.07. NXP Semiconductors had a net margin of 21.03% and a return on equity of 26.75%. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.64 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that NXP Semiconductors N.V. will post 13.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NXP Semiconductors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 25th were given a dividend of $1.014 per share. This represents a $4.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 25th. NXP Semiconductors's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NXP Semiconductors news, EVP Christopher L. Jensen sold 4,576 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.03, for a total transaction of $1,070,921.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,261,187.67. This represents a 45.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Andrew Micallef sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.58, for a total transaction of $194,580.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,942 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,514.36. The trade was a 9.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 10,865 shares of company stock worth $2,508,416. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NXPI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of NXP Semiconductors from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wolfe Research increased their price target on shares of NXP Semiconductors from $270.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of NXP Semiconductors from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of NXP Semiconductors from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on shares of NXP Semiconductors from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NXP Semiconductors has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $294.25.

About NXP Semiconductors

NXP Semiconductors N.V. is a global semiconductor company headquartered in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, that designs and supplies mixed-signal and standard product solutions for a broad range of end markets. The company focuses on enabling secure connections and infrastructure for embedded applications, developing technologies used across automotive, industrial and Internet of Things (IoT), mobile, and communication infrastructure segments. NXP's offerings target customers that require reliable, secure, and high-performance semiconductor components for connected devices and systems.

Product lines include microcontrollers and application processors, secure elements and authentication technologies, RF and high-power analog components, connectivity solutions, and vehicle networking and infotainment systems.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.