Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. Decreases Stock Position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. decreased its position in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 18.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 305 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 71 shares during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in ASML were worth $211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ASML. Amundi increased its stake in ASML by 4,880.5% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 335,284 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $247,019,000 after acquiring an additional 328,552 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ASML in the fourth quarter valued at $175,257,000. Fisher Funds Management LTD bought a new stake in ASML in the fourth quarter worth $137,386,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in ASML by 281.3% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 156,693 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $108,601,000 after purchasing an additional 115,603 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Appaloosa LP lifted its position in ASML by 106.5% during the fourth quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 160,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $110,893,000 after purchasing an additional 82,500 shares during the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. 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 initiated coverage on ASML in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price objective on the stock. DZ Bank upgraded ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Two investment 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 data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $937.00.

ASML Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of ASML opened at $674.58 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $727.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $732.14. 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 $265.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.43, a P/E/G 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.

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 net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 47.73%. Equities research analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

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