NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ:NXPI) Short Interest Update

NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ:NXPI) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,570,000 shares, a decline of 16.5% from the February 28th total of 10,260,000 shares. Currently, 3.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,810,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of NXP Semiconductors from $260.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of NXP Semiconductors from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Arete Research raised shares of NXP Semiconductors to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of NXP Semiconductors in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded NXP Semiconductors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NXP Semiconductors presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $267.00.

NXP Semiconductors Trading Down 8.9 %

Shares of NXPI traded down $17.15 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $176.52. 1,529,348 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,433,625. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $213.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $221.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.77 billion, a PE ratio of 18.14, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.47. NXP Semiconductors has a 52 week low of $175.40 and a 52 week high of $296.08.

NXP Semiconductors Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 19th will be given a dividend of $1.014 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 19th. This represents a $4.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. NXP Semiconductors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Andrew Micallef sold 1,000 shares of the company’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 owns 8,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,808,504.08. This represents a 10.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NXP Semiconductors

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jacobs & Co. CA raised its stake in NXP Semiconductors by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 24,915 shares of the semiconductor provider’s stock worth $4,735,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. Cullen Investment Group LTD. lifted its stake in shares of NXP Semiconductors by 6.2% in the first quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 10,445 shares of the semiconductor provider’s stock valued at $1,985,000 after buying an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in shares of NXP Semiconductors by 19.9% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 596 shares of the semiconductor provider’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. 111 Capital acquired a new stake in shares of NXP Semiconductors in the 4th quarter worth about $818,000. Finally, Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ acquired a new position in NXP Semiconductors during the 4th quarter valued at about $11,767,000. 90.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.