Empirical Asset Management LLC Decreases Stake in STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM)

Empirical Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,670 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock after selling 1,100 shares during the quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC’s holdings in STMicroelectronics were worth $316,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of STM. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in STMicroelectronics during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Archer Investment Corp bought a new stake in shares of STMicroelectronics in the third quarter worth $30,000. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in STMicroelectronics in the third quarter valued at $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in STMicroelectronics by 81.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,183 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 531 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in STMicroelectronics by 108.3% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,556 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 809 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

STMicroelectronics Stock Up 3.0 %

STMicroelectronics stock opened at $25.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 2.84. STMicroelectronics has a one year low of $23.66 and a one year high of $49.05. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.46, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.52.

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The semiconductor producer reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.27 billion. STMicroelectronics had a net margin of 16.11% and a return on equity of 13.29%. STMicroelectronics’s revenue was down 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that STMicroelectronics will post 1.64 earnings per share for the current year.

STMicroelectronics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. STMicroelectronics’s payout ratio is 12.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on STM. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of STMicroelectronics in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen downgraded STMicroelectronics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $25.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley downgraded STMicroelectronics from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup upgraded STMicroelectronics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of STMicroelectronics in a research note on Monday, December 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $34.11.

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.