Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Grows Position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 11.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,425 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,717 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.’s holdings in ASML were worth $26,814,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ASML by 3.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,607,702 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,123,710,000 after buying an additional 126,413 shares in the last quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ASML by 7.6% in the third quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 1,495,236 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $880,186,000 after buying an additional 105,339 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ASML by 2.0% in the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,214,574 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $714,971,000 after buying an additional 23,783 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of ASML by 34.6% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,067,413 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $628,344,000 after buying an additional 274,562 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of ASML by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 981,659 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $536,378,000 after buying an additional 211,792 shares in the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ASML Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of ASML stock opened at $974.01 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.50. ASML Holding has a 52-week low of $563.99 and a 52-week high of $1,056.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $384.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.49. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $919.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $750.25.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The semiconductor company reported $5.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.12 by $0.48. ASML had a return on equity of 68.32% and a net margin of 28.44%. The company had revenue of $7.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.34 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 20.48 EPS for the current year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be given a dividend of $1.343 per share. This represents a $5.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ASML. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of ASML in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Kepler Capital Markets raised shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of ASML from $726.00 to $878.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 30th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of ASML from $830.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of ASML from $950.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $962.60.

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.