Advisors Asset Management Inc. Lowers Stock Position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 5.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,425 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 190 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in ASML were worth $3,324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ASML. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of ASML by 50.0% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,719,153 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,668,386,000 after acquiring an additional 572,996 shares during the last quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co purchased a new position in ASML in the first quarter worth approximately $542,710,000. GQG Partners LLC lifted its stake in ASML by 21.6% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 1,657,878 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,608,921,000 after acquiring an additional 294,784 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of ASML by 48,040.7% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 245,999 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $186,202,000 after buying an additional 245,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of ASML by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 776,768 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $587,951,000 after buying an additional 203,860 shares during the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ASML Trading Up 3.0 %

ASML traded up $25.76 on Friday, reaching $888.39. 1,681,191 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,187,295. The company’s 50 day moving average is $1,004.63 and its 200-day moving average is $942.04. The company has a market cap of $350.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.37, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.49. ASML Holding has a twelve month low of $563.99 and a twelve month high of $1,110.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.52.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The semiconductor company reported $4.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.87 by $0.14. ASML had a net margin of 26.50% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The firm had revenue of $6.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.37 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that ASML Holding will post 20.3 earnings per share for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 29th will be given a $1.8732 dividend. This is an increase from ASML’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 29th. This represents a $7.49 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ASML shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of ASML from $1,072.00 to $1,052.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of ASML from $1,150.00 to $1,185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of ASML in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of ASML from $1,200.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of ASML from $1,172.00 to $1,202.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,147.80.

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.