Wambolt & Associates LLC Buys New Position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Wambolt & Associates LLC purchased a new position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 510 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $353,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kennebec Savings Bank lifted its holdings in shares of ASML by 227.3% during the 4th quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 36 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC lifted its stake in ASML by 740.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 42 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of ASML in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of ASML during the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of ASML during the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASML has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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. 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 target price on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target 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. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $937.00.

ASML Price Performance

Shares of ASML stock opened at $726.74 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $730.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $733.15. ASML Holding has a 12-month low of $645.45 and a 12-month high of $1,110.09. The firm has a market cap of $285.92 billion, a PE ratio of 34.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its earnings results 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, equities analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 11th were issued a dividend of $1.5855 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. This is an increase from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

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.