PDS Planning Inc Increases Stake in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

PDS Planning Inc grew its position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,357 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the quarter. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in ASML were worth $941,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of ASML by 4,880.5% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 335,284 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $247,019,000 after purchasing an additional 328,552 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of ASML in the fourth quarter worth about $175,257,000. Fisher Funds Management LTD bought a new position in shares of ASML in the fourth quarter worth about $137,386,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of ASML by 281.3% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 156,693 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $108,601,000 after purchasing an additional 115,603 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its holdings in shares of ASML by 126.4% in the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 148,377 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $123,635,000 after purchasing an additional 82,836 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASML has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. DZ Bank upgraded shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a 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 on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on shares of ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $937.00.

ASML Stock Performance

ASML opened at $730.33 on Tuesday. 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $287.33 billion, a PE ratio of 35.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $732.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $737.67.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 47.73% and a net margin of 26.78%. On average, analysts anticipate that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th were paid a dividend of $1.5855 per share. This is a boost from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.35%.

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.