ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) Stock Position Lifted by Global X Japan Co. Ltd.

Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,797 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the quarter. ASML makes up approximately 0.7% of Global X Japan Co. Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. Global X Japan Co. Ltd.’s holdings in ASML were worth $5,404,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of ASML by 24.5% during the 3rd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 61 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its holdings in ASML by 21.2% during the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 80 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. raised its position in shares of ASML by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 305 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of ASML by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,223,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Point Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ASML by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 606 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $420,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of ASML from $1,300.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on ASML in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective 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, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $937.00.

ASML Stock Performance

NASDAQ ASML opened at $739.13 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $722.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $769.66. The stock has a market cap of $290.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.54, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.47. ASML Holding has a twelve month low of $645.45 and a twelve month high of $1,110.09.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 earnings per share (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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 25.31 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 dividend of $1.5855 per share. This is a positive change from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 11th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.