PFG Advisors Acquires 58 Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

PFG Advisors increased its holdings in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 13.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 501 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. PFG Advisors’ holdings in ASML were worth $486,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of ASML by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,719,153 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,668,386,000 after buying an additional 572,996 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of ASML by 48,040.7% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 245,999 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $186,202,000 after buying an additional 245,488 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of ASML by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 776,768 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $587,951,000 after buying an additional 203,860 shares during the period. Kodai Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of ASML in the 4th quarter valued at $150,318,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of ASML by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,111,404 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,078,584,000 after buying an additional 194,190 shares during the period. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASML has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on ASML from $1,150.00 to $1,185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on ASML in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Susquehanna raised their price target on ASML from $1,200.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on ASML from $1,072.00 to $1,052.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Three 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,083.00.

ASML Trading Up 2.1 %

ASML stock traded up $22.76 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $1,085.26. 1,053,757 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 850,319. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $1,000.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $929.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.54. The company has a market cap of $428.23 billion, a PE ratio of 55.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.49. ASML Holding has a one year low of $563.99 and a one year high of $1,110.09.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The semiconductor company reported $3.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.54. The firm had revenue of $5.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.73 billion. ASML had a return on equity of 56.99% and a net margin of 27.23%. Research analysts predict that ASML Holding will post 20.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th were issued a dividend of $1.343 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 26th. This represents a $5.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.53%.

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.