Rafferty Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Position in NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ:NXPI)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ:NXPI) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,363,314 shares of the semiconductor provider’s stock after selling 139,009 shares during the period. NXP Semiconductors comprises about 1.0% of Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned 0.54% of NXP Semiconductors worth $283,365,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in NXP Semiconductors in the 4th quarter worth about $672,224,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in NXP Semiconductors by 27.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,865,446 shares of the semiconductor provider’s stock worth $803,432,000 after buying an additional 824,317 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in NXP Semiconductors by 1,172.3% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 555,189 shares of the semiconductor provider’s stock worth $115,396,000 after buying an additional 511,553 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in NXP Semiconductors by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,086,294 shares of the semiconductor provider’s stock worth $849,336,000 after buying an additional 500,413 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in NXP Semiconductors by 36.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,552,802 shares of the semiconductor provider’s stock worth $322,764,000 after buying an additional 414,932 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.54% of the company’s stock.

NXP Semiconductors Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NXPI opened at $211.33 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $188.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $209.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.60. NXP Semiconductors has a 1-year low of $148.09 and a 1-year high of $296.08. The company has a market cap of $53.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.38.

NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ:NXPI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The semiconductor provider reported $2.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.83 billion. NXP Semiconductors had a return on equity of 31.45% and a net margin of 19.90%. NXP Semiconductors’s quarterly revenue was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.24 EPS. Analysts forecast that NXP Semiconductors will post 10.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NXP Semiconductors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 19th were given a dividend of $1.014 per share. This represents a $4.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 19th. NXP Semiconductors’s payout ratio is 44.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NXPI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on NXP Semiconductors from $260.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on NXP Semiconductors from $265.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays lowered their target price on NXP Semiconductors from $230.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Susquehanna cut their price target on NXP Semiconductors from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded NXP Semiconductors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $246.22.

Insider Transactions at NXP Semiconductors

In related news, COO Andrew Micallef sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.86, for a total value of $204,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,808,504.08. The trade was a 10.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

About NXP Semiconductors

NXP Semiconductors N.V. offers various semiconductor products. The company's product portfolio includes microcontrollers; application processors, including i.MX application processors, and i.MX 8 and 9 family of applications processors; communication processors; wireless connectivity solutions, such as near field communications, ultra-wideband, Bluetooth low-energy, Zigbee, and Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi/Bluetooth integrated SoCs; analog and interface devices; radio frequency power amplifiers; and security controllers, as well as semiconductor-based environmental and inertial sensors, including pressure, inertial, magnetic, and gyroscopic sensors.