Wellington Shields & Co. LLC Purchases 37 Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Wellington Shields & Co. LLC boosted its position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 740.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC’s holdings in ASML were worth $29,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kennebec Savings Bank boosted its holdings in ASML by 227.3% in the fourth quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 36 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in ASML in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT boosted its holdings in ASML by 133.3% in the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 56 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in ASML in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC boosted its holdings in ASML by 78.1% in the fourth quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 57 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ASML shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. DZ Bank upgraded ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on ASML in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ASML currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $937.00.

ASML Trading Up 2.8 %

NASDAQ ASML opened at $714.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $280.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $733.01 and its 200-day moving average is $739.83. ASML Holding has a one year low of $645.45 and a one year high of $1,110.09.

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

ASML Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 11th were given a $1.5855 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. This is a positive change from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. ASML’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.35%.

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.