Van ECK Associates Corp Boosts Holdings in STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM - Free Report) by 26.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,195,521 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock after buying an additional 1,719,257 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.91% of STMicroelectronics worth $228,655,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of STMicroelectronics by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,051 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC increased its position in STMicroelectronics by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 12,970 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock valued at $509,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the period. Gallacher Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of STMicroelectronics by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 9,783 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of STMicroelectronics by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 21,784 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock worth $942,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in shares of STMicroelectronics by 6.7% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 8,967 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. 5.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

STMicroelectronics Stock Performance

Shares of STMicroelectronics stock traded down $0.47 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $26.67. The company had a trading volume of 6,813,875 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,814,587. The stock has a market cap of $24.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.98, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.58. STMicroelectronics has a 12-month low of $26.44 and a 12-month high of $51.27. The company has a quick ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 3.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.35.

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The semiconductor producer reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.04. STMicroelectronics had a net margin of 16.11% and a return on equity of 13.44%. The business had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that STMicroelectronics will post 1.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

STMicroelectronics Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. STMicroelectronics's payout ratio is 12.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on STM. Morgan Stanley lowered STMicroelectronics from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on STMicroelectronics from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on STMicroelectronics from $54.00 to $41.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Citigroup raised shares of STMicroelectronics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Craig Hallum cut their price objective on shares of STMicroelectronics from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.63.

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.