LGT Group Foundation Takes Position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

LGT Group Foundation purchased a new position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 467 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $324,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Bellecapital International Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of ASML by 44.2% in the 4th quarter. Bellecapital International Ltd. now owns 750 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $520,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in ASML by 96.2% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,555 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,236,000 after purchasing an additional 3,705 shares in the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in ASML by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,446 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $7,240,000 after buying an additional 674 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ASML by 148.4% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,506 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,737,000 after buying an additional 1,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ASML in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ASML shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of ASML in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. DZ Bank raised ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ASML has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $937.00.

ASML Stock Performance

Shares of ASML opened at $708.22 on Wednesday. ASML Holding has a 12 month low of $645.45 and a 12 month high of $1,110.09. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $732.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $750.10. 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 company has a market cap of $278.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.47.

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

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were paid a dividend of $1.5855 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. This is a positive change from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. ASML’s payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

ASML Company 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.