William Blair Investment Management LLC Lowers Holdings in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

William Blair Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 45.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,668 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 3,892 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in ASML were worth $3,235,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASML. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ASML by 104.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,009 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,840,000 after purchasing an additional 3,580 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of ASML by 34.8% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 3,108 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,589,000 after buying an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its position in ASML by 4.7% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 28,785 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $23,985,000 after acquiring an additional 1,284 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in ASML by 542.2% during the third quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,766 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,472,000 after acquiring an additional 1,491 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commerce Bank lifted its position in ASML by 6.6% during the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 3,589 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,991,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ASML Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ASML opened at $734.91 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $731.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $736.45. The stock has a market cap of $289.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.33, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54. 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 Holding has a 12 month low of $645.45 and a 12 month high of $1,110.09.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 47.73%. As a group, analysts predict that ASML Holding will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target 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. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of ASML in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price objective for the company. DZ Bank raised shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on shares of ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given 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.

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.