Morse Asset Management Inc Trims Stock Position in NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ:NXPI)

Morse Asset Management Inc cut its stake in shares of NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ:NXPI) by 14.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,410 shares of the semiconductor provider’s stock after selling 1,943 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc’s holdings in NXP Semiconductors were worth $2,827,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NXPI. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in NXP Semiconductors by 46.9% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 89,297 shares of the semiconductor provider’s stock valued at $20,510,000 after acquiring an additional 28,518 shares during the last quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in NXP Semiconductors during the 4th quarter worth approximately $212,000. Highland Capital Management LLC increased its position in NXP Semiconductors by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 6,766 shares of the semiconductor provider’s stock worth $1,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250 shares during the period. IFG Advisory LLC acquired a new position in NXP Semiconductors during the 4th quarter worth approximately $223,000. Finally, Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in NXP Semiconductors during the 4th quarter worth approximately $395,000. 90.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NXP Semiconductors Price Performance

NASDAQ:NXPI traded up $6.11 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $253.62. 2,111,290 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,277,814. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $272.46 and its 200-day moving average is $250.22. The stock has a market cap of $64.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 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 1.64. NXP Semiconductors has a 1-year low of $167.21 and a 1-year high of $296.08.

NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ:NXPI) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The semiconductor provider reported $3.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.38. NXP Semiconductors had a return on equity of 35.65% and a net margin of 21.21%. The firm had revenue of $3.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.04 EPS. NXP Semiconductors’s quarterly revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that NXP Semiconductors will post 12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NXP Semiconductors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 13th were paid a dividend of $1.014 per share. This represents a $4.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 13th. NXP Semiconductors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NXPI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Argus boosted their target price on NXP Semiconductors from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on NXP Semiconductors from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on NXP Semiconductors from $295.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Citigroup boosted their target price on NXP Semiconductors from $150.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded NXP Semiconductors from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $265.00 to $325.00 in a research report on Friday, May 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $294.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NXP Semiconductors news, CEO Kurt Sievers sold 8,548 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.75, for a total transaction of $2,357,111.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 177,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,052,891.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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.