Washington Capital Management Inc. Grows Stock Position in STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM)

Washington Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM - Free Report) by 40.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 52,435 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock after purchasing an additional 15,020 shares during the period. STMicroelectronics accounts for 0.9% of Washington Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Washington Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in STMicroelectronics were worth $1,151,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of STMicroelectronics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $486,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in STMicroelectronics during the 4th quarter valued at $1,738,000. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of STMicroelectronics during the fourth quarter valued at $758,000. Aigen Investment Management LP raised its position in STMicroelectronics by 100.5% in the 4th quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 77,986 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock worth $1,947,000 after buying an additional 39,082 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its position in STMicroelectronics by 54.9% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 67,969 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock worth $1,697,000 after buying an additional 24,096 shares during the last quarter. 5.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on STM shares. TD Cowen increased their target price on STMicroelectronics from $18.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of STMicroelectronics in a report on Friday, April 25th. Dbs Bank downgraded shares of STMicroelectronics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded STMicroelectronics from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised STMicroelectronics from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $30.97.

STMicroelectronics Price Performance

Shares of STM stock traded down $0.54 on Wednesday, reaching $29.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,170,393 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,539,180. The company has a market capitalization of $26.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.56. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $23.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.33. The company has a current ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 2.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. STMicroelectronics has a 1 year low of $17.25 and a 1 year high of $45.39.

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

STMicroelectronics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 24th. STMicroelectronics's dividend payout ratio is currently 25.42%.

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.