ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) Stock Position Raised by Cooper Financial Group

Cooper Financial Group lifted its stake in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,761 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Cooper Financial Group’s holdings in ASML were worth $1,220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASML. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of ASML by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 3,873 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,961,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its position in ASML by 10.1% in the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 261 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in ASML by 40.2% in the second quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 555 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $568,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in ASML by 42.1% in the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 81 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of ASML by 8.6% during the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 8,562 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $8,757,000 after acquiring an additional 676 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

ASML Stock Performance

Shares of ASML traded down $11.70 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $727.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 820,112 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,419,852. ASML Holding has a 1-year low of $645.45 and a 1-year high of $1,110.09. The stock has a market cap of $286.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.08, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.47. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $699.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $805.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The semiconductor company reported $5.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.24 by $0.56. ASML had a return on equity of 47.61% and a net margin of 26.40%. The company had revenue of $8.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.66 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that ASML Holding will post 20.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 29th were issued a dividend of $1.407 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 29th. This represents a $5.63 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. ASML’s payout ratio is currently 29.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASML has been the topic of several research reports. Berenberg Bank raised ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered ASML from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on ASML from $1,207.00 to $1,148.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on ASML in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ASML currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $955.50.

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.