Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 14,296 Shares of STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) by 54.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,501 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock after buying an additional 14,296 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in STMicroelectronics were worth $1,204,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in STM. Investors Research Corp increased its holdings in shares of STMicroelectronics by 376.4% in the 3rd quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 20,725 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $616,000 after buying an additional 16,375 shares during the last quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in STMicroelectronics by 0.9% during the third quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 68,573 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock worth $2,039,000 after acquiring an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp purchased a new stake in STMicroelectronics during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of STMicroelectronics by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 20,465 shares of the semiconductor producer’s stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 2,799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arjuna Capital purchased a new position in shares of STMicroelectronics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $266,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 5.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on STM shares. Morgan Stanley lowered STMicroelectronics from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of STMicroelectronics from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of STMicroelectronics in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup raised shares of STMicroelectronics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of STMicroelectronics in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, STMicroelectronics presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.26.

STMicroelectronics Price Performance

Shares of STM stock opened at $25.87 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.53. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.93. STMicroelectronics has a one year low of $23.95 and a one year high of $50.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 2.84 and a quick ratio of 2.16.

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

STMicroelectronics Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. STMicroelectronics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.35%.

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.