Franklin Resources Inc. Has $586.70 Million Stock Holdings in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its stake in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 40.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 846,516 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 564,707 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.22% of ASML worth $586,704,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its stake in shares of ASML by 68.9% in the 4th quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 2,128 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,475,000 after purchasing an additional 868 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in ASML in the fourth quarter valued at $1,174,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in ASML by 5.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 140,802 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $117,323,000 after acquiring an additional 7,010 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in ASML by 36.7% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 26,322 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $18,243,000 after acquiring an additional 7,073 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of ASML by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,759 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,764,000 after acquiring an additional 1,062 shares in the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ASML Stock Performance

ASML opened at $662.63 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $260.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.86, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $725.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $730.56. ASML Holding has a 1-year low of $645.45 and a 1-year 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.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th will be given a $1.5855 dividend. This is a positive change from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 28th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on ASML. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of ASML in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price objective for the company. DZ Bank upgraded shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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 research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus 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.