ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Sold by General American Investors Co. Inc.

General American Investors Co. Inc. decreased its position in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 62,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 4,100 shares during the period. ASML accounts for about 3.6% of General American Investors Co. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. General American Investors Co. Inc.’s holdings in ASML were worth $51,662,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ASML. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of ASML by 104.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,009 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,840,000 after acquiring an additional 3,580 shares in the last quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in ASML by 1.0% in the third quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,724 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $9,769,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC grew its stake in ASML by 54.8% during the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 325 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC increased its holdings in ASML by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 538 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of ASML by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,262 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,051,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ASML. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of ASML from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of ASML from $1,052.00 to $815.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on ASML from $1,207.00 to $1,148.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price objective on ASML from $1,300.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $970.60.

ASML Stock Performance

ASML traded up $14.45 during trading on Thursday, hitting $675.88. 208,088 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,406,781. The firm has a market capitalization of $265.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.63, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.51. ASML Holding has a 1-year low of $633.85 and a 1-year high of $1,110.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $780.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $892.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 29th will be given a $1.407 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 29th. This represents a $5.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.21%.

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.