Stephens Inc. AR Has $1.25 Million Position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Stephens Inc. AR cut its stake in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 20.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,799 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 464 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in ASML were worth $1,247,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of ASML by 94,079.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 491,618 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,096,410,000 after purchasing an additional 491,096 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in ASML by 37.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,757,049 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,464,061,000 after buying an additional 474,653 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new position in ASML during the third quarter valued at approximately $125,952,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in ASML by 281.3% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 156,693 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $108,601,000 after acquiring an additional 115,603 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its position in ASML by 97,001.7% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 113,609 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $94,665,000 after acquiring an additional 113,492 shares in the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ASML shares. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. DZ Bank upgraded ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. BNP Paribas began coverage on ASML in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $937.00.

ASML Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of ASML stock opened at $756.17 on Thursday. ASML Holding has a 1 year low of $645.45 and a 1 year high of $1,110.09. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $726.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $764.28. The company has a market cap of $297.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.35, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.67 by ($0.37). ASML had a return on equity of 47.73% and a net margin of 26.78%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be given a $1.5855 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 11th. This is an increase from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.83%.

ASML Company 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.