Banque Pictet & Cie SA Sells 272 Shares of ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML)

Banque Pictet & Cie SA cut its stake in ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,105 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 272 shares during the period. Banque Pictet & Cie SA’s holdings in ASML were worth $3,538,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ASML. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in ASML by 94,079.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 491,618 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,096,410,000 after acquiring an additional 491,096 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake 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 valued at $1,464,061,000 after buying an additional 474,653 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new position in ASML in 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 buying an additional 115,603 shares during the period. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $94,665,000 after buying an additional 113,492 shares during the period. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on ASML. BNP Paribas began coverage on ASML in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $858.00 price target on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on ASML from $815.00 to $767.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on ASML from $790.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. DZ Bank raised ASML from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ASML has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $937.00.

ASML Trading Down 3.3 %

NASDAQ ASML opened at $751.55 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $295.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.13, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.47. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $728.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $764.31. ASML Holding has a 12 month low of $645.45 and a 12 month high of $1,110.09. 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 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 net margin of 26.78% and a return on equity of 47.73%. On average, analysts predict that ASML Holding will post 25.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ASML Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 11th will be given a $1.5855 dividend. This is a positive change from ASML’s previous dividend of $1.08. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 11th. ASML’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.83%.

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.