ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) Shares Sold by Primecap Management Co. CA

Primecap Management Co. CA lowered its stake in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 546,309 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 6,900 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in ASML were worth $378,636,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kennebec Savings Bank boosted its position in ASML by 227.3% during the 4th quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 36 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC raised its stake in ASML by 740.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 42 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in ASML during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT raised its stake in ASML by 133.3% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in ASML during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company’s stock.

ASML Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ASML opened at $730.33 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $287.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.11, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.54. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $732.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $737.67. ASML Holding has a 52-week low of $645.45 and a 52-week high of $1,110.09.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last issued 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 return on equity of 47.73% and a net margin of 26.78%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that ASML Holding will post 25.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 11th were issued a $1.5855 dividend. This is a boost from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 11th. ASML’s payout ratio is presently 31.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASML has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on ASML from $1,148.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 29th. DZ Bank raised ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ASML has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $937.00.

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.