ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Purchased by Atlas Brown Inc.

Atlas Brown Inc. boosted its holdings in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 10.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 434 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Atlas Brown Inc.’s holdings in ASML were worth $300,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in shares of ASML in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,174,000. Taurus Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of ASML in the 3rd quarter valued at $16,994,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of ASML by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 140,802 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $117,323,000 after buying an additional 7,010 shares during the period. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of ASML by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 15,361 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $12,800,000 after buying an additional 1,032 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of ASML by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 47,601 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $39,664,000 after buying an additional 3,321 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

ASML Price Performance

Shares of ASML traded down $4.82 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $739.16. 1,182,865 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,451,224. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of $290.80 billion, a PE ratio of 38.70, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.47. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $698.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $810.78. ASML Holding has a one year low of $645.45 and a one year high of $1,110.09.

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

ASML Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ASML. Morgan Stanley cut ASML from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Berenberg Bank raised shares of ASML to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of ASML from $1,207.00 to $1,148.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. BNP Paribas started coverage on ASML in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on ASML from $1,000.00 to $790.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, ASML has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $943.83.

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.