ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Purchased by Gavilan Investment Partners LLC

Gavilan Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,700 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the quarter. ASML makes up approximately 5.5% of Gavilan Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Gavilan Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in ASML were worth $19,891,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its holdings in ASML by 68.9% during the fourth quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 2,128 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,475,000 after buying an additional 868 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in shares of ASML in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,174,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in ASML by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 140,802 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $117,323,000 after purchasing an additional 7,010 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in ASML by 36.7% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 26,322 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $18,243,000 after purchasing an additional 7,073 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in ASML by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,759 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,764,000 after purchasing an additional 1,062 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

ASML Trading Down 2.8 %

ASML opened at $605.55 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $238.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.67. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $716.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $726.43. ASML Holding has a 1-year low of $597.69 and a 1-year high of $1,110.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The semiconductor company reported $7.30 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.67 by ($0.37). ASML had a return on equity of 47.73% and a net margin of 26.78%. Analysts expect that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Monday, April 28th will be issued a $1.5855 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 28th. This is a positive change from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on ASML shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ASML currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $937.00.

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.