Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Long Beach has increased its investment in NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) by 20.6% during the third quarter of 2023. According to a recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), the institutional investor now holds 54,942 shares of the computer hardware maker, having acquired an additional 9,402 shares during the period. This increased holding represents 2.2% of Farmers & Merchants’ overall investment portfolio, making NVIDIA its 11th largest holding.
As of the latest filing, the value of Farmers & Merchants’ holdings in NVIDIA amounted to approximately $10.25 million. Other significant investors have also made adjustments to their positions in NVIDIA recently. For example, Harbor Asset Planning Inc. established a new position in the company valued at around $28,000, while Winnow Wealth LLC acquired shares worth $32,000. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its stake by 47.9%, now owning 207 shares valued at approximately $33,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares.
In total, institutional investors hold 65.27% of NVIDIA’s stock, reflecting strong confidence in the company’s future prospects.
Insider Activity and Analyst Ratings
In related news, NVIDIA’s executive vice president, Debora Shoquist, sold 69,840 shares on December 12, 2023, at an average price of $177.85, resulting in a total transaction value of $12.42 million. Following the sale, she retained 1,424,603 shares, valued at approximately $253.37 million, marking a 4.67% decrease in her holdings. Additionally, director Harvey C. Jones sold 250,000 shares on December 15, 2023, for a total of $44.33 million, resulting in a 3.48% reduction of his position.
Over the past quarter, insiders have sold a total of 1,611,474 shares worth around $293.29 million. Insiders currently own 4.17% of the company’s stock.
Analysts have been actively reviewing NVIDIA, with several firms reiterating positive ratings. On January 6, 2024, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating. Loop Capital raised their target price for NVIDIA from $250.00 to $350.00 while maintaining a “buy” rating. Meanwhile, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated its “buy” rating, and Evercore ISI maintained an “outperform” rating.
According to data from MarketBeat, NVIDIA currently holds an average rating of “Buy” with a consensus target price of $263.98.
Recent Developments and Stock Performance
Several recent developments have influenced NVIDIA’s market sentiment positively. Wolfe Research raised its price target to $275 and maintained an “outperform” rating, indicating potential for significant upside. Additionally, reports suggest that China has conditionally approved DeepSeek to purchase NVIDIA’s H200 chips, potentially opening a critical market and alleviating geopolitical risks.
NVIDIA is also reportedly involved in discussions with Microsoft and Amazon regarding a substantial investment in OpenAI, which could enhance demand for NVIDIA’s products in the growing AI market.
On the operational side, NVIDIA expanded its partnership with CoreWeave through a $2 billion investment aimed at bolstering AI data center capabilities. However, challenges loom; recent reports indicate that competitors like Amazon and Google are encroaching on NVIDIA’s market share, which may impact pricing and growth trajectories.
NVIDIA’s stock performance has been robust, opening at $191.13 on the latest trading day. The company boasts a market capitalization of approximately $4.64 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.43, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. With a 1-year low of $86.62 and a 1-year high of $212.19, NVIDIA reported earnings of $1.30 per share for the previous quarter, outperforming analysts’ expectations of $1.23.
The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.01 per share, paid on December 26, 2023, with an annualized yield of 0.0%.
Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, NVIDIA has evolved from a graphics chip manufacturer to a leader in accelerated computing for various industries, including gaming, professional visualization, and artificial intelligence. The company’s diverse product offerings include GPUs marketed under the GeForce and NVIDIA RTX brands, as well as high-performance data center accelerators.
