GWN Securities Inc. Takes $230,000 Position in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

GWN Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 314 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Glenview Trust co raised its position in ASML by 94.5% in the fourth quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 3,783 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,622,000 after acquiring an additional 1,838 shares during the period. Gallacher Capital Management LLC raised its position in ASML by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 439 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in ASML by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 442 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in ASML by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 216,898 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $150,328,000 after acquiring an additional 13,309 shares during the period. Finally, Greenwich Wealth Management LLC raised its position in ASML by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 816 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $565,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. 26.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ASML Stock Performance

ASML opened at $730.33 on Tuesday. ASML Holding has a fifty-two week low of $645.45 and a fifty-two week high of $1,110.09. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $732.25 and a 200 day moving average of $737.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.53.

ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. 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 company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 11th were paid a dividend of $1.5855 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 11th. This is a boost from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. ASML’s payout ratio is currently 31.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.