Russell Investments Group Ltd. Buys 366,064 Shares of NXP Semiconductors N.V. $NXPI

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group opened a stake in NXP Semiconductors, buying 366,064 shares worth approximately $86.9 million, or about 0.15% of the company.
• NXP beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting EPS of $4.20 and revenue of $3.79 billion; revenue increased 19.3% year over year.
• The board authorized a $5 billion share-repurchase plan. Analysts’ consensus rating was “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $295.78.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new stake in NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ:NXPI - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 366,064 shares of the semiconductor provider's stock, valued at approximately $86,929,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.15% of NXP Semiconductors at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NXPI. Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in NXP Semiconductors during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc purchased a new position in shares of NXP Semiconductors in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Fiduciary Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of NXP Semiconductors in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of NXP Semiconductors in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Balance Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of NXP Semiconductors in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.54% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NXPI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Susquehanna boosted their target price on NXP Semiconductors from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating on shares of NXP Semiconductors in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of NXP Semiconductors from $338.00 to $313.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. UBS Group cut shares of NXP Semiconductors from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $305.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of NXP Semiconductors in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $295.78.

NXP Semiconductors Stock Down 0.8%

NXP Semiconductors stock traded down $2.20 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $265.09. 4,320,601 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,620,579. NXP Semiconductors N.V. has a 1 year low of $183.00 and a 1 year high of $339.95. The firm has a market cap of $66.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 2.12 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $240.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $247.33.

NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ:NXPI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The semiconductor provider reported $4.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.12 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $3.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. NXP Semiconductors had a net margin of 23.40% and a return on equity of 28.57%. The firm's revenue was up 19.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.11 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that NXP Semiconductors N.V. will post 13.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NXP Semiconductors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th were given a dividend of $1.0140 per share. This represents a $4.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 16th. NXP Semiconductors's payout ratio is presently 31.92%.

NXP Semiconductors declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, October 27th that allows the company to repurchase $5 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor provider to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Anthony Foxx sold 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.60, for a total value of $105,440.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $775,511.20. The trade was a 11.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Andrew Hardy sold 1,643 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $266.49, for a total value of $437,843.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,064 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,083,015.36. This represents a 28.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 6,398 shares of company stock worth $1,574,523. 0.05% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About NXP Semiconductors

NXP Semiconductors is a global semiconductor company headquartered in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. It develops and supplies chips and related technologies for automotive, industrial and Internet of Things, mobile, and communications infrastructure applications. Its products include microcontrollers and processors, analog and mixed-signal components, connectivity solutions, and security technologies. In the automotive sector, NXP supplies technologies used in vehicle networking, radar, and safety systems; its other offerings support applications such as secure identification and near-field communication.

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