124,464 Shares in STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) Purchased by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 124,464 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock, valued at approximately $3,108,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of STMicroelectronics in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in STMicroelectronics by 225.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,329 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 921 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,180 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in STMicroelectronics in the fourth quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of STMicroelectronics during the fourth quarter worth $70,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.05% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on STM. TD Cowen boosted their target price on STMicroelectronics from $18.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley raised STMicroelectronics from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of STMicroelectronics in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded STMicroelectronics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Bank of America cut STMicroelectronics from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, STMicroelectronics currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $30.97.

STMicroelectronics Stock Performance

STMicroelectronics stock traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $25.06. 4,491,011 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,781,051. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 2.37 and a current ratio of 3.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.53. STMicroelectronics has a fifty-two week low of $17.25 and a fifty-two week high of $45.39.

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The semiconductor producer reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.55 billion. STMicroelectronics had a net margin of 11.74% and a return on equity of 8.92%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that STMicroelectronics will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current year.

STMicroelectronics Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 24th will be given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 24th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. STMicroelectronics's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.42%.

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.