NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ:NXPI) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ:NXPI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

NXPI has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of NXP Semiconductors in a research report on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on NXP Semiconductors from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of NXP Semiconductors in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of NXP Semiconductors in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $270.00 target price (down from $305.00) on shares of NXP Semiconductors in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $304.91.

NXP Semiconductors Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NXPI opened at $229.33 on Friday. NXP Semiconductors has a fifty-two week low of $183.00 and a fifty-two week high of $339.95. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $229.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $255.96. The company has a market capitalization of $57.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 2.04.

NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ:NXPI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The semiconductor provider reported $3.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.52 by $0.09. NXP Semiconductors had a net margin of 22.56% and a return on equity of 27.83%. The firm had revenue of $3.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.72 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that NXP Semiconductors will post 13.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NXP Semiconductors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th were paid a $1.0140 dividend. This represents a $4.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 16th. NXP Semiconductors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.64%.

Insider Activity at NXP Semiconductors

In related news, EVP Andrew Micallef sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.04, for a total transaction of $226,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 7,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,795,209.68. This trade represents a 11.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Christopher L. Jensen sold 3,355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $805,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,120. This trade represents a 92.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NXP Semiconductors

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NXPI. IFP Advisors Inc bought a new stake in shares of NXP Semiconductors in the third quarter worth approximately $916,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of NXP Semiconductors during the third quarter valued at approximately $652,000. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of NXP Semiconductors during the third quarter valued at approximately $558,000. Align Financial LLC bought a new position in NXP Semiconductors during the third quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Finally, KRS Capital Management LLC bought a new position in NXP Semiconductors during the third quarter valued at approximately $579,000. 90.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About NXP Semiconductors

NXP Semiconductors N.V. is a global semiconductor company headquartered in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. The company develops and supplies secure connectivity and processing solutions for automotive, industrial and Internet of Things (IoT), mobile, and communication infrastructure applications.

Its product portfolio includes microcontrollers and application processors, automotive networking and processing chips, analog and power-management devices, radio-frequency and wireless connectivity products, sensors, and embedded security solutions.