NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ:NXPI) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ:NXPI) shares gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $285.00 to $275.00. The stock had previously closed at $236.90, but opened at $220.50. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. NXP Semiconductors shares last traded at $222.85, with a volume of 1,427,260 shares trading hands.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. Citic Securities initiated coverage on NXP Semiconductors in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They set a $288.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of NXP Semiconductors from $250.00 to $235.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of NXP Semiconductors from $260.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of NXP Semiconductors from $330.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of NXP Semiconductors in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NXP Semiconductors news, EVP Jennifer Wuamett sold 3,500 shares of NXP Semiconductors stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.35, for a total value of $813,225.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 30,269 shares in the company, valued at $7,033,002.15. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NXP Semiconductors

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in NXP Semiconductors by 17.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,921,432 shares of the semiconductor provider’s stock valued at $3,201,543,000 after buying an additional 1,909,898 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of NXP Semiconductors by 67.2% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,041,129 shares of the semiconductor provider’s stock valued at $718,680,000 after acquiring an additional 1,222,736 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in NXP Semiconductors by 24,533.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 514,341 shares of the semiconductor provider’s stock worth $123,447,000 after purchasing an additional 512,253 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in NXP Semiconductors in the 3rd quarter valued at $84,901,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in NXP Semiconductors by 4,525.6% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 356,774 shares of the semiconductor provider’s stock valued at $88,399,000 after purchasing an additional 349,061 shares in the last quarter. 90.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NXP Semiconductors Stock Up 3.0 %

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $236.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $253.19. The company has a market capitalization of $58.94 billion, a PE ratio of 22.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.52.

NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ:NXPI) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The semiconductor provider reported $3.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.43 by $0.02. NXP Semiconductors had a return on equity of 34.11% and a net margin of 20.98%. The business had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.31 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that NXP Semiconductors will post 11.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NXP Semiconductors Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 12th were paid a dividend of $1.014 per share. This represents a $4.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 12th. NXP Semiconductors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.74%.

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.