Sovran Advisors LLC Takes $834,000 Position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 1,133 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ASML. Carnegie Investment Counsel increased its stake in shares of ASML by 68.9% during the 4th quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 2,128 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,475,000 after purchasing an additional 868 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in shares of ASML in the fourth quarter valued at $1,174,000. Taurus Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ASML during the 3rd quarter worth $16,994,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in ASML by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 140,802 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $117,323,000 after acquiring an additional 7,010 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stockman Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in ASML by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 15,361 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $12,800,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032 shares during the period. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ASML. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of ASML in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, DZ Bank raised ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $937.00.

ASML Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ ASML opened at $752.98 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The business has a 50-day moving average of $725.78 and a 200-day moving average of $765.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $296.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.20, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.47. ASML Holding has a 12 month low of $645.45 and a 12 month high of $1,110.09.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.67 by ($0.37). ASML had a return on equity of 47.73% and a net margin of 26.78%. Sell-side analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be issued a $1.5855 dividend. This is a boost from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 11th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.83%.

ASML Profile

ASML Holding N.V. develops, produces, markets, sells, and services advanced semiconductor equipment systems for chipmakers. It offers advanced semiconductor equipment systems, including lithography, metrology, and inspection systems. The company also provides extreme ultraviolet lithography systems; and deep ultraviolet lithography systems comprising immersion and dry lithography solutions to manufacture various range of semiconductor nodes and technologies.