Manchester Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 52.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 99 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC’s holdings in ASML were worth $69,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of ASML by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,186,222 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,654,921,000 after buying an additional 31,879 shares during the period. Edgewood Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of ASML by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 2,226,971 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,855,624,000 after buying an additional 70,776 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of ASML by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,788,280 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,239,421,000 after buying an additional 31,231 shares during the period. Windacre Partnership LLC raised its holdings in shares of ASML by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Windacre Partnership LLC now owns 664,100 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $553,361,000 after buying an additional 25,600 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of ASML by 94,079.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 491,618 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,096,410,000 after buying an additional 491,096 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

ASML Trading Down 3.3 %

NASDAQ:ASML opened at $751.55 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $729.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $763.48. The stock has a market cap of $295.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.47. ASML Holding has a 1 year low of $645.45 and a 1 year high of $1,110.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.53.

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, analysts anticipate that ASML Holding will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 an increase from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 11th. ASML’s payout ratio is presently 26.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ASML shares. BNP Paribas began coverage on ASML in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price objective on the stock. 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. 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. Finally, DZ Bank raised ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $937.00.

About ASML

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.