OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd Sells 10,352 Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd reduced its holdings in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 48.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,960 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 10,352 shares during the quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd’s holdings in ASML were worth $7,814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ASML. Kennebec Savings Bank grew its position in shares of ASML by 227.3% in the 4th quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 36 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC grew its position in shares of ASML by 740.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 42 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of ASML in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT grew its position in shares of ASML by 133.3% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 56 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of ASML in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ASML Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ASML opened at $731.11 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $731.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $736.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $287.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.15, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54. ASML Holding has a 12-month low of $645.45 and a 12-month high of $1,110.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

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

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were paid a $1.5855 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. This is a boost from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. ASML’s payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.