Silicon Motion Technology (NASDAQ:SIMO) Lowered to "Hold" Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Silicon Motion Technology (NASDAQ:SIMO - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Thursday morning.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on SIMO. Susquehanna cut their target price on Silicon Motion Technology from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Craig Hallum lowered their price target on Silicon Motion Technology from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Silicon Motion Technology in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Silicon Motion Technology in a report on Monday, December 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.63.

Silicon Motion Technology Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of Silicon Motion Technology stock traded up $1.19 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $56.47. 340,774 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 408,092. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a fifty day moving average of $54.48 and a 200-day moving average of $56.74. Silicon Motion Technology has a 52-week low of $48.81 and a 52-week high of $85.87.

Silicon Motion Technology (NASDAQ:SIMO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The semiconductor producer reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.10). Silicon Motion Technology had a return on equity of 11.59% and a net margin of 11.29%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Silicon Motion Technology will post 2.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Silicon Motion Technology Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.54%. Silicon Motion Technology's dividend payout ratio is presently 73.98%.

Silicon Motion Technology announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 5th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor producer to purchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Silicon Motion Technology

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Silicon Motion Technology during the third quarter valued at about $1,826,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Silicon Motion Technology by 21.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 200,016 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock valued at $12,149,000 after acquiring an additional 35,741 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Silicon Motion Technology by 95.7% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 128,299 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock valued at $7,793,000 after acquiring an additional 62,733 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Silicon Motion Technology during the fourth quarter valued at about $431,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Silicon Motion Technology by 27.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,239,574 shares of the semiconductor producer's stock valued at $136,032,000 after acquiring an additional 485,862 shares in the last quarter. 78.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Silicon Motion Technology Company Profile

Silicon Motion Technology Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, and markets NAND flash controllers for solid-state storage devices. The company offers controllers for computing-grade solid state drives (SSDs), which are used in PCs and other client devices; enterprise-grade SSDs used in data centers; eMMC and UFS mobile embedded storage for use in smartphones and IoT devices; flash memory cards and flash drives for use in expandable storage; and specialized SSDs that are used in industrial, commercial, and automotive applications.